Something Like That
by Elle Em
Summary: Nick and Greg discover that best friends don't really know "everything" about each other. NICK/GREG Slash; Hints of GSR, Yo!Bling Genres: Humour, Casefile, Romance, Angst.
1. First Blush

**Something Like That**

**Chapter 1: First Blush**

Summary: Nick and Greg discover that best friends don't really know **everything** about each other.

Disclaimer: NOT MINE! CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, yadda yadda yadda. But I truly, deeply wish it **were** mine - **le sigh!** - Lyrics are from "Something Like That" by Tim McGraw and cookies to anyone who can guess the other music reference I couldn't help throwing in :D

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_It was Labour day weekend, I was seventeen,  
I bought a coke and some gasoline,  
An' I drove out to the county fair.  
When I saw her for the first time,  
she was standin' there in that ticket line,  
and it all started right then and there,  
Oh a sailor's sky made a perfect sunset,  
and that's a day I'll never forget_

Nick was singing along to one of his favourite country songs, glimpsing at the clock to make sure they weren't running late, he took a left on Palomino Avenue. Risking a quick glance at his surprisingly silent passenger, he kept his quiet. He just prayed the silence would continue because he didn't feel like arguing over what kind of music qualified to be regarded as good music. No, he definitely did not want to have to hear that rich, throaty, voice go on about how country music should be banned because it wasn't eligible to be even called music, and any form of the word "crooning" should be obliterated from the English language if only to prevent country singers from doing it. He nodded, as if agreeing with some unseen person in the car, that he was most definitely happy to finally have some quiet time to himself to just relax and get into the zone before they got to the crime scene.

_I had a barbeque stain on my white t-shirt,  
she was killin' me in that mini skirt,  
skippin' rocks on the river by the railroad tracks,  
she had a sun tan line and red lipstick,  
I worked so hard for that first kiss,  
and a heart don't forget somethin' like that_

He pronounced his natural drawl, enjoying himself immensely because he loved this song. It reminded him of lazy summer days and high school crushes, back when he was young, cocky, and raring to take on the world. He could tell that his partner was getting agitated, on the verge of yelling at him to shut up, and this is exactly what he was counting on because as much as he liked to think he loved the quiet, he couldn't stand it when it came from a certain individual, the one he was quite hopelessly in love with but adamantly refusing to see. Nick mentally started counting down, without pausing to think about why he was so desperate to get his best friend's attention—5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

"Nick! Could you please stop singing? It's past annoying and now it's just getting on my nerves. I mean, seriously, I can see that you have a great voice and all, but country?! I thought I taught you better than that! UNBELIEVABLE!! You're so getting into the Greg Sanders' 12 Step Program for Croonaholics my friend and we're starting right after this shift!"

ding ding ding Jackpot! Nick mentally congratulated himself for bringing his friend out of the weird "non-talking" funk he was in, **and** for getting himself invited over to Greg's place after shift—a great end to, what he was sure, going to be a brutal shift. Grissom had called him in on his day off as a favour because they had their hands full dealing with multiple robberies that have been taking place near Henderson and various other neighborhoods surrounding it; and the situation was quickly escalating. They wanted to catch the guy or guys before someone got hurt.

"Man, whatever! You shouldn't talk Greggo, 'cause I've heard you singing—or what normal people call "SCREAMING"—to some pretty questionable music…but if you wanna feed me dinner and provide me with free beer then who am I to say no?," Nick sarcastically threw back while silently hoping that Greg wouldn't go back on his plan.

Greg smirked and rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe that he couldn't stay mad at this guy for longer than 2 minutes…actually it was less than 2 minutes, but seriously the man can ask him for anything and he'd probably give it up with a smile on his face. He winced slightly, thinking about how stupid it was to be mad at someone for singing a song that was written with a particular gender in mind.

He'd been berating himself yet again for being such a coward about not revealing his true feelings to his best friend and consequently got mad at the Texan for singing a song, which so obviously told him that Nick was definitely a red-blooded, very straight, American cowboy with an amazing ass. Ok, the singing didn't tell him all of that. He may have picked up some insider info on the amazing ass by doing some peeking while conveniently having to "change" at the same time Nick had to hit the showers after a shift…or 10. Ok, ok, so he was fully taking advantage of perving on Nick's ass whenever the chance arose, even if it meant that he had to "accidentally" spill coffee on his shirt to do so, but he was still amazed that he hadn't gotten the full Monty yet, as he was sure Nick had been on the football team during high school but he surprisingly remained inhibited about getting naked in front of the guys.

Nick cut into his thoughts by gripping his thigh suddenly to shake it and say, "G, get outta dreamland will ya? We're here and the faster we get to work, the faster I can get that free beer!" and with that the warmth of Nick's hand left his leg and pulled him back to reality.

"You know, I'm starting to think you only love me for my beer. Like seriously man, I'm offended here. I thought I was your best friend…is this how you treat a best friend? Like a cheap date?" getting out of the car, Greg quipped back while trying to suppress an involuntary shudder that ran down his spine—which was most definitely not related to Nick's innocent touch. No, it was cold outside and he reminded himself to get a warmer jacket the next time he was out shopping. His eyes automatically scanned the scene in front him to take in as much details as possible about the environment before he walked past the yellow crime scene tape.

"Ha! How would you know how I treat my dates, cheap or otherwise?" Nick dared to ask, before shutting up altogether at the sight that greeted them in the living room. So…they were too late after all. There was blood everywhere, on the walls, on the ceiling, the expensive carpeting was covered with them and the furniture wasn't left out either.

"It's not what you think."

He looked to see where the voice was coming from, and his eyes landed on Grissom standing at the top of the stairs that was situated at the opposite side of the living room.

"What do you mean Griss?" Nick gestured for Greg to be careful while walking on the carpeting and waited for Grissom to elaborate.

"The blood on the walls…they're not human. I tested it and it came out animal, and the house owners reported that their pets were missing, a Chihuahua and a Cocker Spaniel. I've already collected DNA samples of the dogs for comparison." Grissom was walking down the stairs while bringing them up to date.

"So, if it's just like the other ones and you've got it covered then why are we both here?" inquired Greg and Nick nodded in agreement, slightly relieved that it wasn't human blood.

"Ah, but this isn't exactly like the other robberies. There seemed to be a heavy dose of animal brutality thrown in this time and this neighborhood is one with a neighborhood watch. Aren't you curious how the perps managed to maim two very loud animals, and get away without alerting the neighbours?" Grissom asked as he halted in front of them with the samples in his hand.

"Well, they could have sedated the dogs, hoping to keep them quiet for the little time they were in here robbing the place…and the sedative may not have been enough to knock them out completely...but enough to keep them quiet while they were killed to make sure they stayed silent." Nick theorized.

"But that would mean that the perps had prior knowledge about this place before going in, like the setup of the house, and how many people lived in this place…"Greg cut in, while snapping on a pair of latex gloves so he could pick up the broken family portrait that was lying on the floor. The glass frame was shattered, but the picture remained intact, showcasing a family of four: a mom and dad with a girl about 15 years of age with her arm draped around a younger boy who looked about 10.

"If both parents work, and I'm sure the kids must have extra curricular activities they participate in..." he elaborated as he glanced at the various soccer and hockey plaques that studded the far wall of the living room, "the perps must have had prior knowledge about their schedules to have done this at a time when there was no one in the house, which suggests that perhaps this was done by someone who was close to or at least familiar with the family" Greg finished.

"Very good Greg. Your first blush theory may be right," Grissom nodded towards both Greg and Nick.

"But we still have to process the case and see how it pans out. I'm going to head back to the lab and drop the samples off for DNA and Tox to confirm or deny what we have come up with so far. If you guys could process the rest of the house, not a lot was disturbed…mainly the master bedroom, where the hidden safe was broken into, and Mr. Brightside's home office also showed signs…" Grissom was suddenly cut off by Greg's poorly disguised snicker, which turned into a full on belly laugh at Grissom's gape mouthed expression.

Nick shook his head, vainly trying to prevent his slight smile from spreading into a shit eating grin. He loved to hear Greg laugh, it didn't matter that it sometimes made Greg look like a little child, and at other times a maniac hyped up on sugar or caffeine, or sometimes **both**…the sound still made something flutter in his stomach, and caused him to smile automatically. It must be like Pavlov's conditioning or something

"Greg, if you're not going to let me in on the joke, then you could at least stop laughing." Grissom tried his best to put on his stern "I'm the boss, and you better do what I say" look but failed miserably as he couldn't help but smirk at the now softly chuckling Greg Sanders.

"I'm sorry Griss, but it's just…Mr. Brightside?" to which Grissom gave him a blank look. "Umm, you know what, never mind, we can take care of this, you go ahead with the samples. We'll also see if we could get anything from the neighbours, if we finish here early," Greg tried to reassure his supervisor with a soft smile this time.

"Ok, I trust you guys. See you later, and let me know right away if anything probative comes up because I'm going to be looking over the other robberies with the rest of the team to see if there's anything in common," with a final wave he walked out of the house, leaving Nick and Greg to divvy up the work by themselves.

"Rock, paper, scissors! Winner takes the master bedroom, and loser has to buy the beer for your after-shift intervention!" Greg smirked at Nick while excitedly preparing for the mini-battle.

Nick shook his head and quipped back, "You look like you're pretty sure that you're gonna win there boss. If I were you, I'd be more doubtful about that." He stuck his right hand out, closing it tightly into a fist and narrowing his eyes.

"Nicky, Nicky, Nicky…you've known me how long? And you still have hope that you're gonna win this?" he let out a dramatic sigh, while he made a fist. "It's endearing, really, but get ready to lose sucka!"

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_A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that, and there's more to come. Thank you for reading :D_


	2. Surprising Revelation: Part 1

**Something Like That **

**Chapter 2: Surprising Revelations -- Part 1**

Disclaimer: NOT MINE! CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc etc...You know the drill ;) Lyrics are from "Dirty Eyes" by AC/DC and ofcourse the first line of this chapter is a homage to Lab Rat Greggo...oh how I love thee!

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"…89 spots of blood to be swabbed, 89 spots of blood, take one down and store it for DNA, 88 spots of blood to be swabbed. 88 spots of blood to be swabbed, 88 spots of blood, take one down and…"

"Greg! If you don't shut up and stop pouting, I'm gonna come down there and personally kick your ass!"

"Hey! You can't tell me to shut up. I'm working diligently here and if I choose to sing while I'm working, to keep myself from going crazy, then it's just too bad for you. Suck it up Stokes! And who says I'm pouting?! I'm sooo not pouting! I lost one game of rock, paper, scissors, that does not mean I'll pout about it…it's just a game!"

"Did I _say_ you were pouting about the game? And you're rambling again, which just screams GUILTY."

"What?! That doesn't even make sense!"

"Dude, it's fine and dandy that you're singing to distract yourself, but when it's driving _me_ crazy, it's not good. I need to concentrate here and you _singing_ the most annoying song _on god's green earth_ is not helping me concentrate! And man, I don't need to be in the same room as you to know that you're pouting."_ Also the fact that I can just picture you with that sweet pout is not helping me concentrate either_, he silently added while going through the bedroom for any evidence.

"Whatever man, I'm being thorough. I mean come on! All this blood can't have been from just the dogs…you've said it yourself before, murder is messy. And it doesn't matter if this time it was an animal that was killed, there had to have been a struggle at some point which may have left us a piece of the perp behind." Greg was not taking any chances.

Judging by the blood spatter on the walls and across the furniture, he could tell that it was one very disturbed individual that carried out the killing, there was no way the pets were alive after losing that much blood. He silently wondered why the perp would even bother taking the dead animals with him, when he could just as easily have left them behind because they hadn't even bothered cleaning up the blood…_unless the animals were seen as a trophy of some kind_. He shuddered at the thought and quickly packed up his samples and took another glance at the living room.

The room was a mess alright. The sofa cushions had been overturned, as if the perps had been looking for something underneath them, and the stuffing had been torn out of some of them. The carpeting was bloodied but didn't show any other signs of a struggle. These guys were clean when it came to material evidence…so far, no fingerprints, wayward fibers, or any other out of place object had turned up. The only wall that hadn't been bloodied was the one studded with the children's plaques which showed their achievement in sports and academia.

He silently walked up the stairs to the first floor, contemplating the meaning,_if there had been any_, about the untouched wall and barely saw Nick walk out of the first room to the left. A loud crash was heard across the house, followed by noisy and colourful swearing from both sides as the boys scrambled to their feet from forcefully bumping into each other.

"Mother f-!"

"Godammit!"

"Greg, don't take the Lord's name in vain! What the heck were you doin' sneaking around outside the home office?!"

"I was not sneaking around! And you should be one to talk about swearing…atleast my mom didn't hear what just came outta your mouth. If you weren't so _engrossed_ in your work Mr. Stokes, you would have heard me pack up my kit and walk up the stairs, to help you might I add?!"

"Ok, ok, sorry…it's just that I didn't hear anything from you for a coupla minutes and I thought somethin' had happened or somethin' so I was gonna come check up on ya, to see if you hadn't collapsed or anything…I mean, I figured that's the only way you coulda shut up, 'cause god knows I've been trying to shut you up for the past 3 hours and it hadn't worked so far…"

"Shut up Stokes. The rambling thing works on me 'cause I'm cute, but it don't suit you." Greg smirked as he brushed past Nick to get to the master bedroom. His stomach fluttered at the fact that he'd been able to fluster Nick just by being silent and he was also elated, even if he didn't want to admit to it, that Nick had been worried about him.

Nick mentally slapped himself for allowing his accent to thicken, and his mouth to ramble on, which clearly showed that he'd been worried about his crush…um, _best friend_, he quickly amended himself. "Ya, well…see if I check up on you again. You know, I was just being cautious and lookin' out for ya, but it looks like I'm not needed," he huffed and faked a hurt look as he caught up with Greg just inside the master bedroom.

"Well, aren't _we_ quite the drama King! Save it man, I know you were worried, and I think it's realllly sweet of you to care sooo much about me Nicky!" Greg cooed and batted his eyelashes for good measure to add to the joke. He hadn't flirted like this with Nick in awhile, and he was gonna take every advantage of this situation to make his conservative cowboy squirm.

A slight blush covered Nick's ears, as those bedroom eyes framed by those long, curly eyelashes were doing things to him that he was sure not a good thing to happen in public. "Doll, you shoulda known I woulda had your back. I'm hurt that you don't trust me enough," Nick was never one to back out and he was starting to enjoy this subtle flirting. He knew his friend wouldn't see it as such but even if it was one-sided, he liked to imagine they were doing this to flirt with each other and not one up each other as friends did for fun.

Greg was taken aback for a second by the Texan's bold flirting, but he figured that his friend was probably just teasing him and decided to get back to business. He really needed that beer, because when he started fantasizing about a certain cowboy flirting with him, he knew he shouldn't be doing anything that needed thinking—like operating heavy machinery or working a crime scene in his case.

"Ok, ok, I'm makin' it up to you after shift aren't I? Who's buying the beer and feeding you dinner? And I already said I was sorry…sooo, what you got so far up here?"

"Alright, you're forgiven but ya…so far, nothing probative. I checked the kids' rooms, nothing turned up. I checked the guest bedroom, nada. The home office was in shambles though, papers strewn everywhere, I bagged and tagged those so we can look them over later. The furniture was disturbed, and the drawers were gone through. It definitely looked like they were after something specific this time, 'cause none of the other rooms had been touched and I'm guessing whatever it was they were lookin' for was related to Mr. Brightside or his work in some way." He paused slightly to pick up the pillows on the floor and examine them.

"I called Brass to ask him if we can get a warrant for the computer, if Mr. Brightside isn't willing to give it up freely, to see if we can get anything from it. It's password protected so I couldn't check anything myself. I want to see if Archie can glean anything from the hard-drive, because that office computer is about the only thing that looks promising so far." Nick finished with a frustrated groan.

Greg carefully moved around the room, which was predictably in shambles with clothes littering the floor everywhere. The safe had been broken into, that much was obvious because the painting that had been concealing the safe had been wrenched off the wall in haste, and lay in pieces on the carpeted floor.

"Well, you certainly got a lot more than me to work on. All I got is blood, blood, and…you guessed it, _more_ blood! The kitchen wasn't touched, as far as I could tell, and the backyard didn't turn up anything, the only room that was disturbed was the living room and the odd thing is the only wall in there that wasn't covered with blood is the one with the kids' plaques on it. And I don't even _know_ if that's probative or not."

"Hmm, well let's hope that we get more outta this room, you print the safe and I'll check for anything else that looks out of place" Nick was already on his hands and knees, checking the carpeting.

Greg tore his eyes away from Nick's tempting ass, devilishly stuck up slightly in the air as he looked under the bed, and forced himself to get to work. He was not going to think about how hot Nick would look naked while in that position, he desperately needed to get away from this Texan or it was going to drive him mad. _Unrequited love is a bitch! _Greg concluded and proceeded to print the safe and what was left of the portrait that had been not-so-cleverly masking the safe.

Little did he know, Nick was probing under the bed for a reason that had nothing to do with collecting evidence._Well, it was more like hiding the evidence_, he thought with a snicker. He hadn't had sex in months, and the close proximity to the sassy blond was giving him a hard-on that had been quite unexpected but not entirely unwelcome. He just wished he was at home, in bed, with preferably some lubricant and some soft music for company if he didn't get to have the real thing, which was Greg Sanders naked and lying under him in bed. He was so engrossed with this fantasy that he almost didn't hear the faint music that started playing…

_Honey  
Yeah honey  
You do it  
Woooo, do it good  
Do it all right  
Every night  
When you turn off the light  
It's outta sight  
(alright)_

_You hypno-_

The tune was abruptly cut off as Nick scrambled out from under the bed to answer his phone.

"Stokes!" Nick yelled into the phone, louder than necessary and winced as he heard himself.

Greg had been caught off guard by the AC/DC tune coming from the straight laced Texan's cell phone and, after the initial shock had wore off, he had jumped to grab the phone lying a few feet away from the bed beside his crime scene kit. But he had kept staring at it to make sure that it was playing what it was playing, until Nick had grabbed it from his hands.

"Whoa there Nick, cell phone reception ok there?"

"Ya, ya, is that why you called? To ask me about my cell reception?" Nick was vainly trying to mask his embarrassment and find a reason to explain away his choice of ring tune to one Greg Sanders, who was blatantly staring at him with curiosity.

"Geez, no need to get defensive Nicky! You're the one who was yelling into the phone like you couldn't hear me or something…anyway, I've got a case down in Henderson which is pretty close to where you are already and I was wondering if you could lend me a hand? I already talked with Gil and he said it was ok, as long as you guys were done and could spare an extra hand." Catherine Willows was frustrated beyond reason right now, as she knew that everyone was running on low and Ecklie was refusing to hire anyone new because _"they just didn't have the money for it right now."_

"Well…we're almost there, we just have the master bedroom and the adjoining washroom to go through and we'll be done. How soon do you need me?"

"As soon as you can get here? Don't make me beg Nicky, because I will and it _won't_ be pretty."

This surprised a laugh out of Nick, "Cath! You don't have to, I'll let Greg know and I'll be right there, can you give me the address?"

As he listened to Nick ask for an address he knew that it wasn't going to be good. He was sure Nick was leaving to go help Catherine, and he mentally slapped himself for not answering the damn phone. Why did he have to freeze? Why couldn't he just have answered it for Nick? He'd done so on multiple occasions before and this time he could have evaded Catherine's plea with a lie of some kind.

"Sure, ok. I'll be there as soon as I can," with that Nick hung up the phone and blushed lightly as he looked up at Greg. "Hey G, looks like everyone's short handed today. Cath needs a hand with her case and I told her I can help. You don't mind do you?"

"Nope! I already printed the safe and painting and I got nothin', so the perps more than likely wore gloves. I was planning to go through the drawers and the washroom. If she needs your help, go right ahead." Greg sounded a little dejected and didn't even bother to tease Nick about his choice in ring tune, _but he couldn't be pissed because I was leaving him…could he?_ Nick quickly snapped out of his wishful thinking, and counted his blessings that he didn't have to defend his sudden change of musical tastes to Greg.

"Thanks G, I'm sure you can take care of the rest. I'll just help Cath collect the evidence and I'll come right back to the lab to help you with the rest of the case ok? I'll let the cops know that you're in here alone." Nick started packing up his kit to leave the house.

"Ok man, see you at the lab"

"See ya!" with a final wave goodbye, Nick quickly exited the room and headed downstairs to face yet another crime scene in the 4 hours he'd been awake since Grissom had called him in. He shook it off like a good soldier and rationalized that the demands of the job didn't really matter because he didn't have a personal life to go home to anyway.

With only the four walls of the bedroom to keep him company, Greg's mood quickly turned grim. He just wished that he could find the courage to ask Nick out, or at least tell the Texan how he felt about him. He shook off his sour mood and turned back heading towards the washroom…_he had work to do, and he hadn't labored this much to become a CSI to only shirk his duty to hopeless fantasies!_

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A/N: Can you _feel_ the sexual tension peoples?! LOL! I love Greg's eyes, and Nicky does too, hence the "Dirty Eyes" reference --_giggles madly_-- Thanks for reading guys, hope you liked it :) Concrit is encouraged, so if I'm doin' something wrong don't be shy to point it out, cheers!


	3. Surprising Revelation: Part 2

**Something Like That **

**Chapter 2: Surprising Revelations -- Part 2**

Disclaimer: NOT MINE! CSI belongs to CBS, Jerry Bruckheimer, etc...If they were mine, I wouldn't be writing stories about them but rather...well, we won't go into that right now ;-)

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_"Greggory Sanders, you're the love of my life. I wouldn't know what I would do without you, please tell me that you love me and you want to stay with me for the rest of my life?"_

_"Oh, Nicky! You know I love you…I can't believe we wasted so much time mooning over each other when we could have been together much, **much**, earlier!"_

_They lay wrapped up in each other's arms, following a serious bout of love making, their naked limbs entangled to the point where it was difficult to figure out where one began and the other ended._

_"It doesn't matter babe, we're together now and we have the chance to make up for lost time…so what do you say we let Nick Jr. come out to play?"_

_Greg blushed furiously at this and tried to duck his head but couldn't escape the Texan's steady, yet playful gaze._

"You know Sanders, staring at the printer won't make it go any faster. I know you have a high opinion of yourself, but your brain waves **do not** have the power to alter outcomes as you may sometimes imagine they do." David Hodges, top trace tech, _second only to some guy they had at Quantico_, had been patiently ignoring the Lab Rat turned CSI for the past hour, until he couldn't take the compulsive tapping of his fingers or his dreamy expressions as he alternatively stared at the printer and the case file lying in front of him.

Startled out of his reverie, Greg shot back, "Well we can't _all_ be like you Hodges. Some of us have to believe that miracles can happen, that things might go faster by looking at them, or _certain people_ might disappear if we stared at them long enough." He huffed, slightly wishing that the earth _would_ swallow up David Hodges, because he was so not in the mood to deal with the snarky trace tech right now.

"Ha-ha. Well, that's not gonna happen anytime soon, so why don't you do something constructive and go help out at DNA or something. I heard Wendy was backed up because a _certain someone_ was being "thorough" while taking DNA samples from a crime scene," Hodges continued to work on his samples as he casually threw over his shoulder.

Rolling his eyes Greg retorted, "Shut up Hodges! You know nothing about working a crime scene, so please don't patronize me."

"Ya, nice come back there boss. Did that take you the past hour to come up with? Is _that_ what you were doing staring at the printer?" Hodges was starting to have fun; he missed his CSI counterpart because no one can banter with him better than Greg. Although he was loathe to admit this fact to himself let alone one Greg Sanders who was currently driving himself crazy thinking about a Nick Stokes who was still MIA.

"For your information, I was trying to construct a time line and possibly solve this case before end of shift today because that's what CSIs _do_ Hodges, solve crimes, and I'd preferably like to do it before this shift turns into a double, if you don't _mind_?"

The heavy sarcasm was not lost on Hodges and without missing a beat he inquired, "Ok Mister CSI, why don't you tell me what you got so far? If you've been working so hard for the past hour, _staring into nothingness_, I'm sure you must have come up with a lot."

Greg quirked an eyebrow, and decided it wouldn't hurt to think through the case out loud, _atleast that way I could focus a little_. "Well, it's like this. Nick and I got called into a B&E today, you know there's been a string of them going on and we think they're all related because the method of theft and the neighborhoods in question share a lot of similarities with each other."

Seeing Hodges nod, Greg continued, "Anyway, we go in, and find only 3 of the rooms in the entire place overturned—the living room, the master bedroom and the home office belonging to one Mr. Brightside." He paused for effect, but Hodges gave no sign of realizing the humour behind that particular name so he quickly moved on. "The owners reported the pets were missing, and since we found the living room mostly covered with blood and all family members were accounted for, we figured that the blood must have come from the pets—which Wendy just confirmed a couple of minutes ago that it did. And Tox confirmed earlier that there had been traces of pet tranquilizer found in the blood. But what _most_ people don't know, my dear Hodges, is that murder is messy."

"And _most_ people don't care either."

"Hodges, shut up and let me explain ok?!"

"As long as this is going somewhere soon, 'cause I know you love the sound of your own voice, but we don't all share in that particular sentiment."

"Ugh, just listen will you? Maybe you'll learn something! _Anyway_, murder is messy and whoever tried to kill the dogs may have gotten hurt in the struggle somehow, because no one dies willingly." He pretended not to have heard the sarcastic gasp that came from Hodges' direction in response to his statement. "And animals especially would have struggled to some degree, so some of that blood could be our perp's. You understand _now_ why I had to take so many samples?"

Hodges had already known there must have been a very good reason behind why Sanders had done what he did, but he wasn't going to admit to the fact that he thought Greg was one of the most capable men he'd met in his life—at work or otherwise, because that would mean that he had to admit to liking the kid, god forbid even admiring his tenacity to conquer "the field." He continued processing the trace he'd gotten from Grissom's earlier B&E, but he let none of his thoughts show as he merely quirked an eyebrow and said, "Whatever you say Sanders, but can you please explain why all of this is relevant?"

Greg leaned forward, he was starting to enjoy showing off his talents as a CSI to the snobby trace tech, if only to prove to him that he was quite capable of doing his work and being serious about it. He continued to explain, "We found the bedroom in shambles and the safe was broken into, but there were no traces of blood whatsoever in the bedroom or in the adjoining washroom, not even signs that the perps had tried cleaning up after themselves following the blood bath that must have taken place if they had killed the pets _first_ and _then_ come upstairs. So, what does that tell us Hodges?"

"That the perps must have searched through the home office and the bedrooms _first_, and while exiting after getting whatever they'd been after, they must have run into the dogs downstairs."

Slightly miffed that the trace tech had gotten the right idea, Greg continued with vigor, "Well, yes, that and also that they had been planning this all along. Tox confirmed that there were traces of tranquilizers in the blood left behind, so the dogs must have been sedated first, allowing enough time for the drugs to enter their system and spread via the blood. So, either the drugs were not enough, or just the wrong type, to _keep_ the dogs sedated. This suggests that the perps only needed the pets to be out of it for a limited length of time…"

"Or that the perp was quite new at this and didn't know how much sedative to use," Hodges added smartly.

"Very good Hodges, and I was just getting to that. Like a wise man once said…"

"…you mean Grissom?"

"How do you _do_ that?! Nevermind! Don't tell me…so ya, as Grissom once said, absence of evidence can tell us just as much as the presence of one. There were no foot or shoe prints, bloody or otherwise, to indicate that there were people there at all when the killing occurred. Just blobs of blood on the floor and blood spatter across the furniture and walls. So I'm thinking the perps must have been wearing something to cover the soles of their feet while they entered and exited the house."

"…much like when CSIs do while trying to preserve evidence and prevent contamination at a crime scene, by wearing those sole protectors," Hodges added helpfully. Even though he didn't want to admit it out loud, he was loving every minute of playing the investigator.

"Exactly! And where does one gain access to both sole protectors _and_ tranquilizers?"

"..."

"Hospitals ofcourse! Private clinics are a _maybe_, but we've narrowed the playing field considerably."

"Ok, I can buy…"

Suddenly Greg's pager started beeping and his cell phone started going off at the same time. After taking a quick glance at both he wordlessly ran over to DNA and came back with a Cheshire cat grin on his face.

"So, where were we Hodges?" Greg swaggered into the trace lab, walking into rest his hands on top of the work table that Hodges was currently working on and slightly leaned in.

The tech looked up from his work, rolled his eyes and chided, "_Before_ or _after_ you decided to run off in mid-sentence? Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners Sanders?"

"Oh ho ho! Someone's a little touchy today…you're really enjoying playing detective-for-a-day aren't you?" Greg rarely had an opportunity to gloat in front of Hodges and he was going to take full advantage of the situation, for as long as he could.

"You obviously don't have anything better to do, so I'm gonna get back to work now…" a slightly frustrated Hodges wished he could wipe the silly grin off of Greg's face, as it was getting to be more than a little annoying.

"Oh come on! You know you want to know the rest of my explanation…especially the juicy addition that I just received from DNA," Greg was dangling the information just out of reach—much like a cat would toy with a mouse and he was loving every minute of it.

Hodges couldn't take it anymore, so he bit the bullet, "Spit it out Sanders, I don't have time to entertain you right now. Some of us have work to do"

_Yes!_ "Well, if you realllly want to know, here it goes…"

Nick had finally finished up collecting the last bit of evidence at Catherine's crime scene, a murder-suicide gone horribly wrong because the murder had unwittingly included the neighbors as well, not just the immediate family members as it usually did. It had taken him 3 hours but he'd done it, and thanked the deities that the drive from his first crime scene to Catherine's had been a short one. He'd texted Greg that he was back as soon as he reached the Crime Lab's parking lot, and headed towards Trace to drop off his samples, while Catherine headed off to DNA with her bindles.

He'd almost reached Trace when he stopped to take in Greg, who had just rushed in from the other side and was now talking animatedly to Hodges. This took Nick by surprise as he didn't think Greg was that close to David Hodges, resident kiss-ass and a general pain in the neck. He watched as Greg leaned in, from his vantage point, to coyly smile down at Hodges. As David's back was to Nick, he could only see Greg's facial reactions to what the trace tech was saying. Greg suddenly started to grin his famous _you-can't-help-but-love-me_ grin that he had patented to wield against anyone who he was currently flirting with, it was the grin that said _I'm playing with you, can't you tell?_. Nick knew this because he knew every single one of Greg's expressions. He'd studied and memorized them as if they were his own, and to a point where he could sense exactly what Greg was feeling, even before Greg himself realized it. Nick's heart broke as he saw his crush flirt with one David Hodges, now a dead man walking, because Nick knew if David even _thought_ about making a move on his Greggo, then he'd have another think coming!

Unaware of Nick's plans for a certain trace tech that borderlined on cruel and unusual punishment, Greg continued to build up to his big finish with Hodges.

"As I was saying before, it's more than likely that the perp works at a hospital or a private clinic where they could get access to the aforementioned supplies. They may have some familiarity with the drugs and how to administer them as they could have easily gained access to this information. This shows that they had staked out Mr. Brightside's place, and knowing exactly what they were going after they planned out the whole thing beforehand and carried it out. Only this time, they didn't get away clean but left a blood trail behind." Greg slightly paused for effect and to let Hodges soak up the theory he'd just laid down.

"And from what Wendy just gave me…it seems that my theory was right! One of the samples I'd collected contained human DNA. CODIS just came up with a name—a Roland Hughes, 26 years old, in the system because he was arrested a couple of years ago for a B&E that was later settled out of court. He's got a list of priors, petty theft and what not, and get this…ANIMAL BRUTALITY is near the top of the list. _And_ he currently volunteers at Desert Palms to rack up community hours, a requirement according to his parole officer." Greg finished with a flourish, grinning madly at an openly gaping Hodges who was now standing in front of him.

"Am I good, or AM I GOOD?!" Greg yelled and made to hug Hodges in his excitement.

Hodges backed up a little with his hands in the air, unused to public displays of affection—or in this case excitement. "Whoa there Sanders! Ya, ok, I admit it. That was pretty cool. Now, I think Stokes over there would very much like to help you with the rest of the case, because _obviously_ nothing's in the bag yet. You still have to prove your theory and I don't have time to hang around and watch you do another song and dance. Now if you two don't have anything for me, I'd like to get back to some _real_ work." Hodges quickly busied himself as he saw Nick's usual laid back countenance turn venomous as he walked in and caught Greg trying to hug the trace tech in his enthusiasm.

Greg's stomach fluttered and he promptly turned to see Nick walk into the lab, and gave him a cheerful smile. "Nicky! You will not believe what I came up with in the past 4 hours you've been MIA man!"

"MIA?! MIA would mean that I've been missing-in-action, and if anything the past seven hours of back breaking work that I just went through will prove, it is that I have very much _been_ in action." Nick was beyond frustrated right now and was rapidly approaching pissed-off. He hated having to come into work on his day off, he hated doing evidence collection for 6 long hours like he was some rookie, and more than anything he hated David Hodges for stealing Greg away from him, and at the moment he was wishing he was anywhere but in the trace lab because he could not take having his crush be so near and so unattainable.

"Greg, I don't have time for your antics right now. I just got off my second crime scene in just over seven hours, and I haven't had a second to breathe. Save your explanation for later…"

Greg was taken aback by Nick's sudden change of mood, as he'd only earlier texted Greg, saying that he was quite ready for that free beer and dinner, and had jokingly added that he would also be looking forward to the foot message as well. "…but Nick, I've been working too. I got a lead and I was hoping to…"

"Not now Sanders! Hodges, Catherine needs you to process this for her case, and hop to it! They're not paying you to stand around and chat with your co-workers," with that Nick left the trace lab, leaving behind a suddenly unhappy Greg Sanders and an equally bewildered David Hodges who both stared after him in silent confusion.

"So, that's the _last_ time I ever ask you how much you came up with in an hour."

_Leave it to Hodges to ruin my day **even** further_, Greg thought bitterly. "Hodges, you heard the man, they're not paying you to chat with your co-workers, so why don't you do some _actual_ work huh?" feeling hurt and suddenly unable to keep his voice steady, Greg choked out the scathing reply and rushed out of the trace lab to prevent the tech from seeing the tears that were threatening to flow unchecked.

At that very moment David Hodges was hit with something, something so glaringly obvious it made him ask himself "_What episode of Twilight Zone am I in?"_. There was just no way that he had just witnessed one Nicholas Stokes—poster boy for every red blooded, _very_ straight, American male out there—just look at David Hodges like he was a threat. Hodges knew that Greg was hopelessly in love with the Texan, many people hadn't picked up on this particular fact—and he was surprised how clueless people could be at times, but he'd paid attention. But what he _hadn't_ known until Nick had rushed out of there, like the devil himself was on his tail, was that the Texan reciprocated the blonde's feelings. _Well, well, well, this is certainly an interesting development._ Hodges went back to his work, quietly contemplating the significance of what he had just witnessed in his lab.

* * *

A/N: So...good, bad, or just plain fugly? Let me know either way, and thanks again for reading guys :)

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Now, go on, click that button and let me know what you realllly thought ;-)


	4. It Ends Tonight: Part 1

**Something Like That **

**Chapter 4: It Ends Tonight -- Part I**

Disclaimer: NOT MINE!! CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc...I only _wish_ they were mine, although I'm still lovin' the fact that I can do naughty things to them with my imagination ;-) Lyrics are from "It Ends Tonight" by The All American Rejects.

* * *

_Your subtleties  
They strangle me  
I can't explain myself at all.  
And all the wants  
And all the needs  
All I don't want to need at all._

_The walls start breathin'  
My minds unweavin'  
Maybe it's best you leave me alone.  
A weight is lifted  
On this evenin'  
I give the final blow._

.oO0Oo.

The cold splash of water soothed his burning face; he drank in the coolness as a thirsty man would do so to prevent against the dry of the desert. He allowed the liquid to wash over his face and neck, as if it would cleanse away his hurt along with the tear tracks that had left a trail down his flushed face—the only piece of evidence that gave any indication of the fact that he'd been crying just moments before. His tear ducts, now dry and irritated, had no more left to give. His eyes would have become swollen and red if he hadn't quickly remedied the situation with some cold water, and an old trick that he'd picked up from one of his former girlfriends.

Greg looked up to stare at the tired, heartbroken man looking back at him in the mirror. His normally chocolate brown eyes were now empty and missing its usual mischievous luster. He closed them to take a deep breath and let it out suddenly as an unexpected sob wracked his body again. He quickly walked over to the bathroom stall, slamming the door shut as he sat on the toilet seat to ride out the hiccups that usually followed what he termed his "ugly crying" episodes. He'd only had two of those before, once when his pet rat Einstein had died, when he was 6, and again when his Nana Olaf had passed away when he was 14. He lifted his feet off the ground and pulled his knees close to his chest, to rest his chin on top of them, and wrapped his arms around himself. He knew that the hiccups would stop soon enough, but he wasn't sure if his broken heart would ever mend again.

**8 hours earlier…**

Leaving behind a suddenly speechless David Hodges, Greg exited the Trace Lab and started walking after Nick to demand an explanation for his rude behaviour. His throat hurt from the effort he put forth _not_ to cry like a teenage girl, and expertly pulled himself together as his long legs carried him to his destination. He found Nick Stokes, the man of his dreams and until 5 minutes ago his _best friend_, standing in front of the coffee maker in the break room. He hesitated for a moment, pausing just outside the room to watch Nick make himself a cup of coffee; he observed the CSI's trapezius contract and relax as he went through the motions of pouring two milks and one sugar into his awaiting cup. Greg didn't need to see him do it to know _exactly_ how Nick liked to take his coffee. It was one of a hundred different things about Nick Stokes he had fallen in love with—and although the Texan's body was facing away, his frame shielding the mug from Greg's view, Greg could tell by the set of his shoulders that his friend was quite angry about something or _someone_.

Greg had no idea why the other man had behaved like an asshole moments before, when he had dared to insinuate that Greg would be anything less than professional when it came to his work. The Texan had gone so far as to accuse him of slacking off by "chatting up" Hodges while he made himself out to look like the good guy in all of this. Greg felt hurt and angry and he pondered the risk of further aggravating the situation by going in there and demanding an explanation from his so-called best friend. The younger man wavered at the door; finally choosing to let the Texan cool off, he headed towards the layout room instead to sort out the case by himself. He knew that Nick would eventually apologize; the usually good natured man was never one to hold grudges and would never get mad unless he had a good reason for it. At least that's what Greg had thought about the man, up until 10 minutes ago. Greg sighed and decided to wait it out. He knew an explanation would be offered up when Nick was good and ready, but he wasn't sure if _he_ would be ready to accept the apology yet.

oO0Oo

_God, I've been such a fool! I should have **known** that Greg would swing both ways. I mean, how many times has he hinted at the fact that he's a pretty open minded guy? And I can't **believe** I let this chance slip through my fingers because I was too blind to see what I had in front of me!!_

Nick sat staring at the opposite wall, silently berating himself for being an idiot while mechanically taking a sip of his coffee every few seconds. He was nursing a broken heart and wished that Greg really had been slacking off, so he could have a valid excuse to be mad at the younger man. He had behaved like a jealous dickweed, and now he was afraid that he had alienated Greg to a point where he was _sure_ that the blonde was never going to talk to him again in a personal setting. He couldn't believe that he'd let his mouth run off on him, as he knew perfectly well that the younger CSI would never do anything to jeopardize a case and was always professional (even when he was jesting) when it came to work. Nick let out a mournful groan and decided to make it up somehow to the younger man. Even if it was too late to tell Greg about his feelings, he'd never give up the right to being his best friend. Little did he know, he would change his mind in mere hours.

Just as he got up to dump the rest of his coffee and go find Greg to apologize, Grissom knocked on the break room door. "Hey Nick! You just get back from Catherine's scene?"

"What? Oh, ya…I got back a few minutes ago and decided to take a break because I haven't since I started shift…"

"You don't have to explain, thanks again for coming in on your day off I know you had other plans but…"

"It's ok Griss. I was just about done here anyway. I was gonna go catch up with Sanders on the Brightside case, did you need me for something?" Nick squirmed, not feeling like talking to the older man right now.

Grissom quirked an eyebrow in surprise, hearing Nick use Greg's last name and watching the Level 3 CSI's body language he silently concluded that _those two must have had a lover's quarrel_. He had no idea who they thought they were kidding, as it was quite obvious to him that the two "best friends" were actually in love with each other. He still wasn't sure if those two had proclaimed said love to each other or not, as sometimes the way they flirted back and forth it looked to him as if they weren't aware of what they were doing, and at other times it seemed as if they were secret lovers in real life.

"Actually, I was coming by to see how far you guys got on that case. I didn't hear anything from Greg since he got back from the scene, but I trust that he's working on it still so we might as well go find him together," with that the nightshift supervisor quickly walked off, not waiting to see if Nick was behind him.

_Well, it's now or never. Might as well get it over with, because it's not going to get easier the longer I wait._ Nick let out a frustrated sigh and followed the older man out of the break room.

oO0Oo

**Present**

He had been sitting there for awhile, lost in thought, pondering whether or not he should leave to go home when he heard the door open. He was suddenly curious as to who may have just showed up at this particular washroom because he had chosen it for a reason—it was a handicap bathroom in the basement that not many people knew about, and so no one really used it though it was always kept clean. He had only discovered it by pure chance on his way to his first autopsy. He was to meet Grissom and Doc Robbins in the morgue, but he had decided to take the elevators (which were situated on the opposite side of the building) instead of the stairs, so he'd ended up walking all the way back to the morgue once he got to the basement. Since then, whenever he felt like the world was closing in on him, or he felt like spending some "alone time" to think, he would come here—sometimes even on his days off (as pathetic as it sounded). So he sat, waited, and listened for any clues as to who might be on the other side of the stall door. He had heard someone come in, but didn't hear anything else to indicate they had left yet, so he decided to wait it out.

oO0Oo

**7.5 hours earlier**

Greg was putting together the evidence and the research he had collected for the Brightside case to present to Grissom, when the man himself walked in with a sheepish looking Nick Stokes trailing behind him.

"Hey Greg, sorry I didn't have a chance to catch up with you earlier, I trust that you've got something for us?"

Greg briefly nodded to both men, "Sure have, and it's nice to know that _some_ people trust me to do my work." The words escaped his lips unchecked, and Greg wished he could take them back. He didn't want Grissom to have to reprimand him in front of Nick, but right now he was feeling a little dangerous and decided to keep his apology to himself and got back to briefing both men about the case.

Nick had looked properly ashamed when he heard Greg's words, and avoided the younger man's eyes as he pretended to look down at the case file while the throaty voice proceeded to explain in the background.

Grissom heard him out carefully, occasionally noticing that Nick would present his questions indirectly to Greg, posing them as if he were thinking an idea out loud, thereby forcing Greg to answer. Greg would pointedly look at Nick when he was reiterating some information that he'd already covered, to show that Nick hadn't been paying attention and more specifically to make the older man squirm. It was like watching two insects go through a mating dance; only this one was more complex because it involved testosterone as well as pheromones, along with two _very_ thick headed men who were too absorbed with each other's grievances to see that they _obviously_ cared about one another.

As Greg finished his "presentation" Grissom nodded and said, "Well, it looks like you've got it covered. Good job Greg, I'm impressed."

"Are you serious? All those years I spent learning useful but completely random facts about bacteria found in mouths and scuba diving, and all I have to do is _do my job_ to impress you? Grissom, I just don't _get_ you sometimes!" Greg gaped at his supervisor and pseudo-father figure with mock outrage.

Grissom smirked and announced, "As it should be. Ok, so now that we've got something to work with I want you to run with it. Greg you're the primary on this one and Nick will help you with the investigation. I'm still going to be looking over the whole thing, so if you guys need any help, I'll see what I can do. As of now, I'm going to be helping Cath with her recent murder-suicide and Warrick and Sara can help you guys as well, _if_ one of them closes their cases early." Grissom gave a wave to both men, and strode out of the room with an unnatural spring to his step as he thought to himself, _I can't wait to see how this plays out._

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading guys, I appreciate your reviews and concrits very much! I've never been a big fan of putting the boys through angst but there's more to come, so please hang on! I know, I know...blame it all on my muse! It's all her fault!! So ya, I have to go through the angsty part to get to the ooey gooey good stuff, i promise it'll be _extra_ special when it comes...

I'm not bribing you guys at all, I swear! :D

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o0O0Oo

Now, go on, click that button, tell me what you thought...the good, the bad, and the very very good...lol Ok Ok, and the fugly ;-)


	5. It Ends Tonight: Part 2

**Something Like That **

**Chapter 5: It Ends Tonight -- Part II**

Disclaimer: NOT MINE!! CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc...Lyrics are from "Word Up!" by Cameo and "It Ends Tonight" by The All American Rejects.

* * *

**Present**

Greg had been waiting patiently for the past 5 minutes for the intruder to leave, but the person hadn't made a move. He knew there was someone on the other side of the toilet stall, he knew this because he had _very_ good hearing. He could just make out the faint, shallow breathing of the other person but he couldn't tell if it was male or female, young or old, but he knew they were there. He silently wondered if _they_ knew that they weren't alone.

oO0Oo

**7 hours earlier…**

Nick and Greg sat facing each other, both slightly winded after hearing Grissom's proclamation before he left the room. Nick was the Level 3 CSI here, yet Greg had gotten to be the primary. This had surprised both Nick as well as Greg, but the blonde didn't want to let on that he was second guessing himself in front of the older man.

"Well what do you know? It looks like the CSI Level 1 has been doing his work after all."

"G, come on now…" Nick started warningly, trying to appease Greg before he started to pick up steam.

"By the way, my name is Greg. _Not_ G, _not_ Greggo, it's **Greg** so say it right ok? I mean you're the one who insisted on professionalism right? So, no more antics, and since work isn't the place to sit around and "chat", we should go right ahead and figure out what we're gonna be doing about the case." Greg's temper flared as he struggled to keep it under control. Nick's treatment of him while he had been presenting his findings had hurt and angered him, and he resolved to show the Texan that he was just as good a CSI as Warrick or Sara.

"Geezus Greg! You _know_ I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then how _did_ you mean it Nick? You know what? I don't care! I just want to focus on this case, solve it and move on. Some of us don't have all day to spend here, because unlike some "hard working" CSI's I have a personal life outside of this lab!" Greg had always been the stubborn one in his family, because if he hadn't been he would never have been able to escape being tied to his (over protective) mother's aprons.

Nick tried to clamp down on his frustration and the mention of Greg's personal life, now sans Nick, wasn't helping, "Fine Mr. Primary, what would you like to do?"

"I'm gonna call Brass and get him to bring in Roland Hughes for questioning, oh and I'll be conducting the interview. You can watch if you'd like, but I'll need you to go talk to his parole officer, at some point, to establish his behaviour and possibly get any background information that we haven't already recovered," Greg's cool voice delivered the game plan with slight authority. "I was looking over his priors earlier, a B&E in particular…"

"…the one that was settled out of court?" Nick attempted to keep a professional façade, desperate to show Greg that he'd been paying attention to the younger man.

"Yes, Nick. The one that was settled out of court and the _only_ B&E he's ever been arrested for," Greg rolled his eyes and continued, "I made some calls and I found out the "vic" was an older lady, with a grandson living at home. Apparently the boy convinced his grandmother to settle things out of court because they didn't have the money to bother with lawyer's fees, and "_it would be less expensive and more efficient_" this way."

"Whoa, how old is this kid?"

"At the time he was 14, he's 16 now."

"And he used those exact words?"

Greg nodded an affirmative, "According to his grandmother. She sounded like a nice old lady too, but I have a feeling she's got a good memory when it comes to stuff like remembering details."

"Huh…you know what this might mean right?"

Greg quirked an eyebrow as if the conclusion were obvious, "Ya, it sounds like the boy may have been coached, if not threatened by someone, to convince his grandma to drop the charges. And before you ask, I tracked down the grandson's details and it's in this case folder." Greg picked up the folder in question and continued, "I'm not sure how long it's going to take for Brass to find and bring Hughes in but I believe they'll hold him until we can finish interviewing the boy."

After filling in Jim Brass on the skeletal details of the case, and hearing the detective agree to "find the scumbag ASAP", Greg hung up the phone to stare out the car window in silence. He could hear some country song playing in the background and couldn't believe that it was only 10 hours ago that he'd been playfully yelling at Nick's choice in music, and bantering back and forth with him about an intervention in this very same car. How had it come to this? Had he never really meant anything to Nick? He'd thought that they were the best of friends but apparently Nick didn't think so, because he hadn't even bothered to apologize to Greg since his outburst in the trace lab. Did Nick really think so little of him?

The silence was getting on Nick's nerves, and the longer he waited to apologize to Greg, the harder it seemed to form the words needed to express his true feelings to the former Lab Rat. _What am I going to do? I can't just put off the apology forever, he probably already thinks I'm a big douche for not bothering to correct him when he was being self deprecating on purpose. God, to think just 10 hours ago I was joking with him and teasing him out of his silence, now I can't even do that because I'm the damn cause! Crap, crap, crap!_ Nick's stream of consciousness was abruptly cut off when he grasped that Greg was in the middle of telling him something. The Texan had a deer-in-headlights moment until he realized that Greg hadn't caught on to his lack of attention. With a relieved sigh, Nick proceeded to listen to the younger CSI carefully.

"…Jason Fleming, and he goes to the Butterfield Academy at—huh, I think that's the same one that Lindsay goes to. Lucky it's Saturday, so we should be able to catch the kid with the grandma and we could talk to them both. I'll take the kid, and since you're _such_ a charmer you can take the old lady," Greg added dryly as they pulled over to the house, and he quickly got out without pausing to ask Nick if he was okay with the plan.

oO0Oo

**Present**

_Yo pretty ladies around the world  
Got a weird thing to show yourself  
Tell all the boys and girls  
Tell your brother, your sister and your mamma—_

Korn's version of Word Up! was suddenly cut off as the "mystery person", as Greg had dubbed them, finally managed to extract and turn off their cell phone. At that moment, Greg finally realized who exactly was on the opposite side of the stall door and beat the Lab Rat to the punch. "David Hodges, I _know_ you're on the other side of this door, so you better drop it and tell me why you're down here!"

"Only if you get out of your self established doomsday hole because I refuse to talk to a freakin' door!"

The blonde was startled to hear the trace tech swear. He was so used to the permanent snark, that was trademark David Hodges, and sometimes the slight whine or a devious smile that accompanied his words…but Greg had never heard the harsh tone that was in his voice now.

"I got here _first_ Hodges, so you better leave because _as you said_ this is _my_ self established doomsday hole and I don't like to share! So, either you explain yourself or you get out. I don't have to listen to you!"

"Sanders, how about you quit acting like a spoiled brat who's pouting because he didn't get what he wanted, and instead _do_ something about it?"

"What are you talking about?! You don't even know why I'm here and—"

"Unlike you, I'm not blind _and_ deaf Sanders! I know _all_ about how you're hopelessly in love with Nick Stokes and even if I _**hadn't**_ known before, when you guys couldn't stop flirting with each other or couldn't keep your hands off one another, I would know **now**...seeing as your little "display" a few hours ago has _already_ started to pass through the rumor mill at work."

This stopped Greg in his tracks, his voice suddenly lost before they could escape his lips.

oO0Oo

**6 hours earlier…**

"Good morning Mrs. Fleming. I'm Greg Sanders and this is Nick Stokes and we're both from the crime lab. I believe we spoke earlier…?"

"Oh yes, yes, you're the nice boy that called from the crime lab! Please, come in, come in!" the two CSIs smiled pleasantly at the plump but lively older woman that greeted them at the door.

They walked into the small, tastefully decorated living room and took a seat on the sofa. "So, what do you boys like to have? Tea? Coffee? Biscuits? I baked a fresh batch recently, I'll go get some…you boys must be starved to be working so early!"

"Oh no ma'am, we're actually here on a very quick visit so you don't have to get us anything, but thank you kindly for the offer," Nick gently thanked the old lady.

"Yes, thank you Mrs. Fleming. I was actually hoping to speak to Jason as well, so if he's around…?" Greg trailed off as the teenager in question walked in wearing sweats and running shoes, carrying a bottle of water in one hand with a backpack slung across his back to complete the outfit. He was tall, about 5'8" and still growing, with light brown eyes and had spiky blonde hair that looked to be completely natural.

"Hey grandma! I gotta leave for practice early so…who are they?" Jason suddenly inquired as he looked up from glancing at his watch, to curiously eye the two CSIs who were now standing in his living room.

"Hi, I'm Greg Sanders and this is Nick Stokes and we're both from the crime lab. We're here because we wanted to ask you some questions about the break-in that happened here, I think about 2 years ago?"

Jason looked slightly panicked but quickly schooled his features so they were blank once again, "That thing? We already dropped the charges, it was no big deal, nothing was stolen and the guy left as soon as he realized there was someone in the house. Sure, the neighbors were all rallying to get the guy, so it'd stop him from doing it again…but we just didn't have the money to go through the whole process, you know?" Jason was trying to present a convincing argument, but both CSIs realized that there was more to the story which the boy wasn't telling, so Greg decided to talk to him privately.

"Hey man, it's ok. We're just following up on a lead for a case we're working on and we just wanted to confirm a coupla things with you both. Nick here's gonna talk to your grandma, so why don't we get some fresh air, talk, and you can leave for practice right after…it won't take more than a coupla minutes, I swear." Greg used a placating voice to try and soothe the jumpy teenager.

"Um, ya, sure."

"Cool..."

10 minutes later, Greg and Nick were on their way back from the Flemings, armed with new information that could potentially break the case or at least move it further along.

"I can't _believe_ the detectives didn't think to ask the old lady about _why_ she had suddenly changed her mind about a lawsuit!"

"Greg, the police don't always have a lot of time on their hands and usually it's just easier to drop it than ask for a reason, you know?" Nick casually glanced at Greg to gauge the blonde's feelings.

"I know that! But it doesn't mean that its right." Greg was slightly miffed, and Nick thought he looked cute when he looked pissed…but just not when he was pissed at _him._ It almost felt like they were back to normal, if not for the fact that Greg still refused to look at him or smile when he talked to him.

"I agree with you there man. It's our job to take that extra step, to serve and protect, but we just don't have the resources _or_ the time for us to do that in every case. So, what did Brass say when you called him back?"

"That he's got the guy waiting in the interrogation room, and apparently his brother was with him too, demanding that they let him go. He was also yelling at the top of his lungs that Roland wasn't violating any parole regulations, so why was he in there? And that he'll make damn sure that we would pay for placing any false allegations on his little brother."

"Whoa, Brass said all that to you in the 15 seconds you guys talked?"

"No, I could hear the guy yelling in the background while Brass was confirming Roland's status." Greg shrugged and looked out the window again. He couldn't stand to look at Nick, he wished he could stop being such a girl and just tell Nick out loud how he was feeling. _Even though Nick hadn't made an effort to apologize, I should at least try to be the "bigger" man and initiate some sort of contact_, Greg pondered but his stubborn pride wouldn't let him take the first step.

"You know what…the guy, what he just said, does that sound familiar to you?" asked Nick, a small hunch forming in his mind and Greg wasn't far behind with noticing the coincidence.

"Ya…I have a nasty feeling that the guy who approached Jason to threaten him was probably Roland's brother."

"What did Jason say the guy looked like again?"

"He said the guy looked about my age and height, built like a soccer player. That probably means he's all lean, hard, muscle; it also means he could be anywhere between his late 20's to early 30's. Jason also mentioned that the guy had dark brown hair and brown eyes, but they almost seemed black when he was talking to Jason…like the guy was trying to control his anger while he was talking to him or something. The poor kid said that's what scared him the most, and he couldn't risk his grandmother getting hurt because he could tell by the guy's eyes that he was desperate and would do anything to get his friend safe…and also, for a moment, he genuinely seemed sorry for hurting the kid after Jason had apologized and promised him that he would get his grandma to drop the charges."

"Wait, he hurt Jason? When? How? You didn't think to tell me this before when we were at the Fleming's?!" Nick's fear spiked, which set off his anger. He couldn't believe that Greg hadn't mentioned this to him earlier. It was one thing for Greg to be taking responsibility as a primary, but it was something else altogether when he didn't consult the more experienced CSI about something that hinted at abuse. Nick's mind suddenly rewound back to the moment when he'd first witnessed the panic in Jason's eyes, and his brain started connecting the new piece of information to that picture and didn't like what it came up with.

The Denali came to a harsh stop in the parking lot of the Crime Lab as Nick turned to face Greg in disbelief.

"Nick, relax ok. I would have known if the kid was not telling me something. Don't jump to conclusions before…"

"Don't jump to conclusions?! Greg, have you ever _dealt_ with kids who have been abused before?! Do you even _know_ how they act? Because that's what they do, they _act_, they _pretend_ that everything's ok, until eventually they start to believe their own stories. You don't know how deep some of these kids bury their shit!" Nick was reeling from his anger, and from what he saw as Greg's incompetence.

Greg was taken aback by Nick's sudden vehemence, and he struggled to keep a professional façade as he tried to explain his position to Nick. "Listen, I said I'm sorry. And as a somewhat experienced CSI myself, I didn't think the situation even warranted an alarm let alone further investigation, ok? I exercised my judgment as the primary investigator on this case and decided…"

"…NOT to mention the details to me. I see that you still have much to learn **Greg** because rule number 1, that every _**rookie**_ CSI learns, is that you _**never**_ keep your team members out of the loop, no matter how insignificant a piece of information you might think you have!"

Nick's words were coated with venom, and he made sure that every point drove home as he continued to attack the now speechless Greg Sanders, who was starting to feel like he was being chastised like a little kid. But he wasn't a kid, not anymore, and he wasn't going to just sit there and take it; he got out of the truck, slamming the door shut without bothering to roll up his window in his haste to get away from the Texan. Nick quickly followed him without missing a beat, "Where do you think you're going Sanders? I wasn't finished here!"

Greg abruptly turned around to face the angry Texan. "YES YOU ARE STOKES! I'm not going to sit there and let you berate me like a 6 year old when you know _damn_ well that if it was Sara or Warrick in my place you would have just agreed with them, or even let it slide without even _questioning_ their judgment!"

"No Sanders, if it _had_ been Sara or Warrick, they _wouldn't_ have made the mistake of assuming that everything was alright in the first place!"

"So what are you saying Nick, that I can't do my job right? That I'm not cut out to be a CSI just because the handsome and perfect Nick Stokes commands it so?!"

"You said it, not me!"

"What the…that is _such_ a stupid thing to say and it's a coward's way out! Why don't you grow a pair and tell me how you _really_ feel about me Stokes? Seriously, because I'd _love_ to know what my _former_ best friend really thought about me all this time!" Greg goaded the older man, his voice rising, his cheeks were now flushed with anger and he was about ready to burst. Although, at this point, both men were too far gone to exercise restraint over their emotions, let alone their voices. The early morning air carried their words clearly across the parking lot and they barely noticed the day shift starting to trickle in via bus, car and some even walking to get to work.

"If you _really_ want to know Sanders, up until yesterday I thought you weren't such a bad guy but then I found out that you're an **incompetent, narcissistic, CSI wannabe who's only goal is to suck up to Grissom in order to further his career! **Hey, look at that, I just described you're new best friend, David Hodges!" Nick was letting out all the frustration that had been building up since he'd entered the trace lab approximately 3 hours ago to find his best friend flirting with, and trying to hug, one David Hodges in his excitement. "Huh, I never really thought about this before, but you guys are just perfect for each other aren't you? Everything makes sense now, I mean the way you two were being all chummy earlier…you're banging Hodges aren't you?! Is he good for you Greg? Do you like it when he's ramming you?"

As soon as he'd said the words, Nick wished he could take them back, but it was too late. There was complete and utter silence, as both men were too startled to speak. Greg was first to pull it together; he swiftly turned and pushed past the small crowd that had gathered to blatantly stare at the two yelling CSIs. Walking rapidly, he let his long legs steer him towards the crime lab with one thought in mind…_sanctuary_.

oO0Oo

_When darkness turns to light  
It ends tonight, it ends tonight  
Just a little insight won't make this right  
It's too late to fight, it ends tonight, it ends tonight_

.oO0Oo.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading guys, and thank you for your feedback!! --COOKIES FOR ALL!!-- I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to reply, as my internet connection has been tenous at best, so I'm posting when I can get my net to work (shakes fist at the internet provider!!) Hopefully you liked this chap, I'd love to know what you thought about it. And of course, I couldn't resist making reference to the Hodges dance on CSI! LOL, one of my favourite moments that doesn't include Nick or Greg hehe ;-)


	6. An Intervention of Sorts

**Something Like That **

**Chapter 6: An Intervention of Sorts**

Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc...if they _were_ mine, I wouldn't let them outta my bed..I mean, I wouldn't be able to get them outta my head...yes, head.

* * *

Gil Grissom had holed himself up in his office for the past 6 hours, after announcing to Judy that he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances, and was now hoping to hide from the world for just a little bit longer. He had a blistering head ache which was threatening to become a full on migraine at any second. He groaned lightly as he put away the now finished personnel evaluations and took off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose; he gently massaged his forehead in a vain attempt to keep the threatening migraine at bay. The "light" paperwork that he'd chosen to work on in between pouring over his cases had taken its toll. Slightly tired from the double he had pulled, which was now turning into a triple, he sat there behind his desk with his eyes closed while pondering the predicament he was in.

His hands were full with 5 open investigations—4 of which _may_ be related, and one more that didn't seem to go anywhere but was time sensitive so it just _had_ to be taken care of _immediately_…meaning that the Under Sheriff was on his case again, wanting to make sure that the "big wigs" involved were kept happy about the progression of said case. Grissom grimaced slightly, he had never been good at politics; the one time he had run for class president he had lost out by one vote—his own, which he had given away to his opponent instead of voting for himself.

"Hey, you look like you might need these."

Lost in his reverie, he hadn't heard Sara enter the room until her soft voice permeated his thoughts. He looked up to find the brunette gently smiling at him and holding out a bottle of prescription pain killers in one hand and bottled water in the other.

"Thanks Sara, you're a lifesaver." He took the offering as he gestured for her to sit, and he swallowed a couple of pills following it up with a drink from the plastic bottle. He promptly started to look through a case file again as he casually inquired, "So, how's your shift been so far?"

"I just closed my case and I found out…that it was the cook, in the study, with a candlestick."

"Well, that's nice…wait, what?! I thought you were working a trick roll?" Grissom looked up in confusion.

Sara burst into sudden laughter, as she couldn't contain her amusement any longer, "I was _joking_ Grissom. I wanted to know if you were paying attention."

Grissom smirked and shook his head ruefully, "I'm sorry Sara, but the recent string of B&Es and now this new Tom Leyland case has had me a little…"

"…distracted? off-kilter? too busy to spend some quality time with the girlfriend?" Sara gently teased as she looked at him with genuine mirth.

Grissom smiled sheepishly, "um…all of the above?"

The sudden, loud wrapping against his office door got both of their attention, as they looked up to see Conrad Ecklie (Assistant Director of the Las Vegas Crime Lab) standing in the door way with an angry scowl on his face.

"Hello Conrad, what can I do for you?" Grissom was slightly peeved that his private moment with Sara had been interrupted, but he hid it well as he gestured for Ecklie to enter.

"Gil, I need to speak with you in private," Ecklie was now looking pointedly at Sara but she pretended not to notice as she turned towards Grissom with a slightly worried glance that was quickly masked before he registered it.

"You can say whatever you need to in front of Sara, there are no secrets between my team and myself Conrad," Grissom was the picture of calm as he inwardly tried to quell the niggling worry that was starting to form in his mind.

Ecklie made to argue, but he saw that Grissom's stance was not going to change, so he made for the door instead and surprised the two CSIs by closing _and_ locking it before turning towards them with a resigned expression.

oO0Oo

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom**

"Are we playing _who-can-stay-silent-the-longest_ again? 'cause the last time we did, **you lost**. So I think you might as well give up now Sanders," Hodges dryly commented.

Greg struggled to form some sort of a come back, but the words escaped him before they could take shape. The blonde hadn't spoken up since Hodges had announced that he'd known about Greg's sexual preferences, **and** that he was also aware of the incident which had occurred in the parking lot 5 hours prior—essentially, the catalyst that had lead to Greg's current state of disarray.

Following another long pause, during which Hodges was mentally counting the number of tiles on the ceiling for the 24th time, the door to the toilet stall finally opened to reveal a tired and broken Greg Sanders as he stepped out to confront the patiently awaiting Lab Rat.

oO0Oo

**Crime Lab: Grissom's Office**

"Dammit Gil! This is a sensitive situation and you're only making it worse by having Sidle in the same room…but I don't have time to argue with you right now, so I'll cut to the chase. Two of your CSIs were seen arguing in the parking lot earlier today and the content of the fight, although not yet confirmed, was not one that should have been attached to the Crime Lab anyway."

Grissom sneaked a relieved glance at Sara as he realized the message Ecklie had to deliver was not "The Talk" that the secret couple had been silently fearing it to be, "Conrad, could you be more specific because I'm too tired right now to fill in the blanks without more information."

"Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders were seen yelling at each other, on company time, and in this Lab's parking lot about 6 hours ago. I can't believe I had to hear all of this from Judy, who wasn't even aware that I was around when she was rambling about it to the new secretary, so I'm not even sure if I would've found out about this at all if I hadn't come up on their conversation by chance!!," Ecklie was thoroughly frustrated and he had no qualms about showing it.

Grissom struggled to suppress a smirk that was threatening to form after hearing Ecklie's predicament, "While I'm sure you have better things to do than hang out by the water cooler _Conrad_, I still don't see why this piece of information is surprising to you. My guys argue over their cases all the time, I'm sure you're mis—"

Grissom was cut off by Ecklie's harsh voice, "No I'm not, and this isn't about an argument over a case, this is about Stokes and Sanders having a lover's spat because Sanders had cheated on him with Hodges _and_ they were on company time and company property while doing it!"

The delivery of this new piece of information left Grissom and Sara stunned, as they both stared at Ecklie in disbelief.

oO0Oo

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom**

Hodges sat leaning against the wall opposite to the toilet stalls, on the nearly spotless bathroom floor which was now padded with fresh paper towels to prevent any wayward dirt from getting onto his work pants. He suddenly looked up in surprise as he heard the stall directly in his line of vision finally open, and what he saw nearly broke his heart—that's right, David Hodges had a heart, and contrary to popular belief he experienced a similar range of emotions as any other human being. And right now, anger, pity, sorrow and compassion were among them, battling to have free reign over his more logical brain functions. As quickly as his emotions welled, he suppressed them to school his features into a blank expression which gave away nothing. The older man merely projected calm as he waited for Greg to make the first move.

Greg shuffled over to the trace tech and sat beside him, leaning against the wall to replicate his earlier position on the toilet seat; he closed his eyes and quietly inquired, "Why are you here Hodges?"

The older man seriously pondered this question for a few moments and finally replied, "I honestly don't know."

This surprised a short bark of laughter from Greg, "Wow, I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say something which didn't have an ounce of sarcasm, snark or condescension to it."

"What can I say Sanders? I'm full of surprises!" the trace tech's voice once again took on a slight note of sarcasm but Greg knew that the older man wasn't fooling anyone…at least not him, not anymore.

"How did you even know I was here?"

"Simple. I followed you."

Greg quirked an eyebrow at the honest admission, "Hodges, you're one weird son-of-a-gun, you know that?"

"It's been mentioned a couple of times, mostly not in my company though…but then again, I've always been intuitive when it comes to judging other people's opinion of me."

Greg merely shook his head in disbelief, he didn't know whether to cry at his predicament or laugh at the fact that he was even having this conversation with the snarky trace tech. They sat, side by side, but both facing the stalls straight ahead as a comfortable silence overtook them.

After a brief pause, Hodges quietly ventured. "So…you ready to explain?"

"Do I have to?"

Hodges threw Greg a look that clearly said Greg didn't have a choice in the matter but the trace tech was going to be nice and not snark about it for once.

"Ok, ok, well…as you obviously seem to have picked up on the fact that I like boys as well as girls, I guess the only thing to explain uh…to explain is my behaviour in the parking lot," Greg's voice slightly wavered as his mind flashed back to the moments just before Nick had told him how he had really felt about the younger CSI.

oO0Oo

**Crime Lab: Grissom's office**

The silent tableau within Grissom's office suddenly broke as a series of short staccato raps against his door once again pulled Gil and Sara out of their slight daze. Ecklie walked over to find an extremely worried Catherine Willows on the other side of the door and stepped back to let her in.

"Gil, what is going on? Ecklie, I hope you're not jumping to conclusions because we have no idea if the rumours flying around here have any truth to them whatsoever! Grissom, have you heard from the boys at all? I can't reach either of them and it's not from a lack of trying!" Catherine was beside herself with worry, and she wasn't going to rest until she found the men in question and got everything sorted out.

"Catherine, calm down! If you're talking about Nick and Greg's apparent "lover's spat", as Conrad here put it, we just found out ourselves. So you're already one step ahead of us," Sara quietly tried to soothe the older woman while she chanced a worried glance at Grissom.

"Here Cath, sit down for a bit ok?" Grissom directed the blonde to take a seat on the sofa as he continued, "Ecklie, as this is the first I'm hearing about Nick and Greg even _having_ a relationship, let alone with _each other_, I'd like to ask you to leave it to me to figure this out. I'm sure as Assistant Director you have better things to do, like quelling dangerous rumours that might just get out of hand if they're not stopped in time. Of course, if all of this turns out to be a big misunderstanding on the Lab's part…I'm sure you agree that slander is not something that would be taken lightly by the media if they ever get wind of this. Nick and Greg are local heroes for god's sake." Grissom prayed that Ecklie would change his mind about the situation and give the supervisor full reign over the inquiry that was sure to follow.

Ecklie silently weighed the pros and cons of the offer and decided to let Grissom take the lead on this one, because he knew the shit had to hit the fan sooner or later, and he didn't want to be in the way when it happened.

oO0Oo

**Crime Lab: Basement**

Greg hadn't tried to censor his words; they had formed on their own accord, as he saw the picture in his mind's eye clearly replaying the events that had occurred as they had happened. Just like it had been replaying in his head in a continuous loop since he had entered the washroom a few hours ago.

"Is that all?" Hodges quietly inquired.

The words startled Greg. Although it was said in a mere whisper, they sounded loud to his own ears because he had forgotten about the older man sitting silently beside him as he recounted his story.

"Yes, that's it."

There was a long pause, where Hodges carefully weighed his words before he began, "Greg, I need you to know that there is nothing wrong with being gay, or bisexual. Do you understand me?"

"Of course, I know that Hodges! I don't hate myself because I'm bisexual; I came to grips with my sexuality a long time ago. What I hate, is the fact that I couldn't see Nick for what he was. He's a lying bastard who acted like he was my best friend as long as I did _exactly_ what he said and followed him around like a puppy who was enamored with its owner," Greg was disgusted with himself now, he'd gone past his hurt and was now angry at himself for letting Nick close enough to him to get under his skin.

There was a far off look in David's eyes as he said, "Greg, you can't be responsible for other people's actions. If you take the blame on yourself, eventually it's going to destroy you. That road, it only leads to bitterness. I want you to know that. I want you to remember that."

Greg was now staring at the older man with disbelief; he couldn't see how the guy could be so calm about the whole thing. Hodges didn't seem to care that one of his co-workers had accused him of being gay and done so in front of the whole lab no less. And Greg knew any red-blooded male would be pissed at the guy who had done the accusing by now. He also knew that David Hodges was _definitely_ a straight, red-blooded male because, if anything, Greg's gaydar was quite good at detecting such things when his own emotions weren't involved.

The tech continued, "I don't exactly know what set him off, and why Nick said the things he said, but I can tell you that he was just as much, if not more, in love with you as you were with him."

Greg suddenly gasped, choking on air he spluttered, and finally gave up on trying to talk. He just stared at the trace tech in disbelief for a few long seconds and said, "Hodges, I have no idea what you're on but there is just no way that Nick liked me romantically, and after that little spectacle in the parking lot, I'm not even sure if he even likes me as a human being! But that's not what I'm concerned about right now. I just want this whole situation to go away. I want a new start Dave, and I'm not sure if I have the strength to continue working here after what happened today... Can _you_, after going through something so humiliating in front of your co-workers?"

oO0Oo

**Crime Lab: Grissom's Office**

"What are we going to do?" Cath broke the silence that had reigned since Ecklie had agreed to Grissom's offer. After making it clear that he was to be regularly updated, Ecklie had left to track down his secretary in order to help him type up and send out a "general" sensitivity memo that would "remind" all personnel within the lab that any form of harassment towards co-workers, including slander, is cause enough for one to be severely reprimanded.

"I'm not sure Cath. You said you'd tried reaching them, and no one picked up? At any of the numbers?" Grissom was trying to figure out where both boys could have gone, if they weren't at home or at work.

"I've tried everything short of driving over to their houses to check on them. But I know Greg's not in his apartment because I called his Super and he told me that he hadn't seen the kid all day…and that he found it funny that the cops were trying to find a missing cop."

"Guess he doesn't know that we're not cops, but CSIs," Sara dryly remarked.

Grissom had a sudden epiphany, "Wait a minute…has anyone tried reaching Hodges?"

Catherine smacked her forehead in disbelief, "Damn! Of course…I completely didn't think of that! It didn't strike me that the rumours may actually be true, but if they are true, then Greg may be with Hodges…so to speak." Catherine quickly pulled out her cell phone to call the trace tech.

"Is it ringing?"

"Yeah…yeah its ringing but he's not picking up…..dammit it got cut off! Wait, let me try again," Catherine desperately dialed once more and waited for the ring tone, but it never came. "Damn! either his battery died right when I was trying to reach him or he's avoiding us…or me…" Catherine looked at them with a murderous expression on her face.

"Cath…relax, we don't know what happened yet so don't jump to conclusions."

For the third time in the space of an hour, a loud wrapping against Grissom's office door got his attention, as all three looked up to see Warrick Brown enter the room, dragging a livid Nick Stokes along with him. The door slammed shut behind them, as Warrick's deep baritone carried across the room, "Grissom, Damage Control, **NOW!**"

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading guys! Still having some problems with the comp of and on, which I hope will be fixed permanently (some time soon) So, next update _may_ take awhile but hopefully not. Hope you liked this, and as always your feedback is much appreciated :-) Also, this story is based post- Gum Drops, and Fannysmackin' hence the reason why Nick and Greg are seen as "local heroes."


	7. All for one, and one for two?

**Chapter 7: One for all, and all for...two?**

Disclaimer: CSI belongs to the writers!! Um…and also legally CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc…therefore I'm not making any money off this, but as everyone's favourite former Lab Rat once said, "I'm not about the money."

* * *

**Crime Lab: Grissom's Office**

"Anybody care to elaborate? Because as much as I'd like to help, I need to know what happened _first_ in order for me to do anything about it," Grissom sat behind his desk, waiting for Nick or Warrick to continue after they had burst into his office moments before. But he was rapidly losing his patience now as he saw that neither had plans to speak any time soon.

Warrick suddenly looked up from his position near the only window inside the room, "I was trying to think of the best way to tell you this, but I guess…I guess I'll just begin at the beginning." He stole a glance towards a visibly troubled Nick, who sat on the nearby sofa with his head in his hands, and elbows resting on his knees, being held by Catherine in a light embrace. Sara still sat in the chair opposite the desk but she'd turned it so she could both see Warrick, who was leaning against the wall opposite the sofa, and keep an eye on Nick who was sitting to her right.

Seeing that Nick wasn't going to protest, he began to explain the series of events that had lead to their current presence in Grissom's office...

.Oo0oO. Oo0oO. Oo0oO.

"_Hey Rick! You done for the day?" Brass walked into the room to catch the CSI changing in front of his locker._

_"Hey Brass, ya, just wrapped up my case. We got the suspect in custody right now, and it's my night off tonight!"_

_"Good to hear man. I can't wait to get home, hit the showers, and hit the hay!"_

_Warrick snickered good naturedly as he replied, "Ya, old man, want a cane to go with that walk?"_

_"Ha-ha, very funny Warrick. Really, I'm laughing on the inside. So anyway, have you seen your buddy Nick?"_

_"Nope, haven't seen him since I started shift. I heard he got two back-to-back cases--"_

_"Who'd you hear that from?"_

_"Catherine."_

_Brass smirked, "Catherine, huh? So how's it goin' with that?"_

_Warrick threw Brass a confused look, "How's it goin' with what?"_

_"Alright, if that's how you wanna play it…"_

_"That's how I wanna play it," Warrick confirmed with a friendly grin and continued, "So why'd you ask me about Nick anyway? I thought he was working wit you?"_

_"Oh, yeah, it was just that I'd never seen him rearing to get outta that interrogation room as fast as he did today. I just wanted to make sure that he was alright. I called his cell phone, once I left our latest scumbag in a holding cell, but all I got was a busy signal."_

_"Why don't you try Greg? Maybe Nick's phone was just acting up."_

_"Nah, the kid's at home sick…apparently he wasn't feeling well and had asked Nick to take over the case for him."_

_Warrick furrowed his brow in confusion; he'd seen Greg earlier in the night when the former Lab Rat had been sitting in the trace lab and talking animatedly to Hodges. He looked perfectly fine then, so what had happened to him between then and now?_

_"Huh, well I dunno what to tell you man. I haven't talked to either of em' since I started my shift, and I only saw Greg briefly while I was walking past the trace lab to go see Bobby about my case."_

_"Well, if you see or hear from Nick, would you remind him that I can only hold Roland Hughes for 72 hours without charging him?"_

_"Roland who?"_

_"The scumbag I told you about earlier, a suspect in our current investigation. He's the one we were talking to when Nick pulled out mid-interrogation and told me to hold the guy until he could confirm something with Greg…and then he called me back from his cell saying that he needed Greg to be there for the interrogation part, so until then he couldn't do anything, and hung up without going into detail. I figured he must have got a hot new lead or something, you know how Nick gets when he's focused on somethin'…"_

_Warrick laughed good-naturedly, "Yup, like a race horse with blinders on…"_

_"…exactly, so I figured it must have been pretty important, for Nick to take off like that. Anyway, I know he knows the rules, but remind him just in case if you talk to him will ya?"_

_Warrick quickly assured the Captain, "Ok, Brass. Will do."_

_He watched Brass walk out the door to head home, while two Day shift Lab Techs walked in talking animatedly about something. They shut up as soon as they saw Warrick, now standing in front of his locker and sorting through the dirty laundry he'd accumulated over the past week._

_Warrick casually said hello to both and continued with the clean up, when he noticed their sudden quiet. He looked up in question and found the two Techs silently looking at each other like they didn't know what to do with themselves._

_"What's up guys? Do I smell or somethin'?" Warrick jokingly inquired._

_"Uhh…no, no, it's just that…" Ray Jennings wavered, looking at his friend briefly before he continued, "Did you know that Sanders was gay?"_

_"WHAT?! Where the **hell** did that come from?" Warrick was suddenly furious; he didn't think anyone else knew about Greg's sexual preferences because the blonde hadn't explicitly come out at work. His friend just didn't see the point in yelling out that he was bi from the roof tops, especially being in the profession they were in, but he always told people the truth if he was asked about it. _

_"Whoa! Don't get mad, I heard it from Stokes earlier today when he was yelling at Greg in the parking lot…it looked pretty serious. I mean it looked like Stokes was pretty mad that Sanders was sleepin' with Hodges, it almost looked like Nick was jealous…I just didn't think either of them would swing that way you know? Hodges, ya, I can see **that** happening, but Stokes?" Ray suddenly stopped mid-ramble and took a step backward as he saw Warrick pull himself to his full height and give him a murderous glare._

_"Jennings, if **I** were you, I wouldn't be gossiping about either of them, or even Hodges for that matter. You know slander is legally actionable right?" Warrick was bluffing, but they didn't know that._

_"No way man! I wouldn't dream of it…I just wanted to let you know 'cause you guys are close buds, and well I thought I'd give you a heads up about Nick's situation…" Ray trailed off weakly, as even to his ears the BS he was spewing was embarrassingly obvious._

_Warrick quickly packed up and brushed past the two guilty looking men to get to his car. He tried calling Nick's cell and found that it was still busy so he decided to try Greg instead, which also yielded him with nothing. Now he was getting worried, as he had no way of confirming if what he'd heard from Jennings was true or false and a horrible feeling was starting to form in his gut as he recalled what Brass had said to him earlier._

_._ Oo0oO. Oo0oO. Oo0oO.

Once again, the rapid succession of knocks against Grissom's door interrupted Warrick's recounting of the events that had occurred about 5 hours earlier. _I really need to get one of those DO NOT DISTURB signs for my door, _Grissom idly thought but made no move to answer the persistent tapping. Sara however was the first to react as she quickly walked over to the door, and after checking to make sure the wrong person wasn't on the other side, let in an extremely frustrated Jim Brass before shutting and locking the door behind him.

Brass looked slightly relieved when he caught sight of Nick on the sofa, with Catherine now holding his hand in silent support. The Captain quickly took a seat across from them and, leaning back on the spare chair, he dryly observed, "Guess I didn't get the memo on the family meeting huh?"

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom**

_"Hodges, I have no idea what you're on but there is just no way that Nick liked me romantically…I'm not even sure if he even likes me as a human being…I just want this whole situation to go away. I want a new start, and I'm not sure if I have the strength to continue working here after what happened…Can __**you**__, after going through something so humiliating in front of your co-workers? …I just want this whole situation to go away…I want a new start… I'm not sure if I have the strength to continue…Can __**you**__, after going through something so humiliating in front of your co-workers?" _

The words echoed within his mind in a continuous loop, taunting him, reminding him of his former life in L.A. where he'd carved himself a niche, a safe place to call his own and do something he loved, but his superiors were arrogant enough to take all that away from him.

They uprooted him, like a rotten tree that needed to be removed to prevent its disease from infesting the life surrounding it, and transplanted him without a second consideration. Human beings really were a mystery, he thought; one could never understand how one moment people could be so compassionate and caring, and in another so completely unforgiving. He had learned long ago that life didn't deal in "get out of jail free" cards; that the monsters under his bed weren't real, but the humans who harm the innocent **were**. And he had learned _too late_ that life wasn't fair; however cliché it sounded--it was the truth. A truth that was absolute.

He lived by it, worked by it, and now pondering the question his friend had just posed, he replied, "Greg, you need to learn something and its better you learn it now than 10 years down the road, when you're still single, unmarried, and alone."

"Ha! And what would _that_ be David?"

"Life isn't fair."

Greg bit back a frustrated groan. Why had he ever imagined that David Hodges could _possibly_ understand what he was going through? Why had he felt compelled to spill his story, his fears, and his doubts to the older man? He should have _known_ that David could never understand him.

"I understand this better than you may think Sanders…"

"_How does he __**do**__ that?"_

"…because I've had about a decade more of life than you to become jaded."

"_Oh shit, that's just freaky!!"_

Hodges threw a sly glance to see that his guess had hit the mark. Greg was looking at him as if the trace tech could read minds. David ignored this and continued, "You know that old saying, if life gives you lemons…make lemonade. Well, I suggest you stop blaming yourself, the world, and everything else for the situation you're in and start taking responsibility for your actions."

Greg could not believe the tech was accusing him of being lazy and irresponsible. He made to argue but was quickly cut off as the older man gestured for him to shut up and threw the CSI's own words back at him, "Just listen to me, will you? Maybe you'll learn something!"

* * *

**Crime Lab: Grissom's Office**

"Brass, I thought you were home already?" Grissom asked at the same time Warrick inquired in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"I _was_ home, but I came back to get something from my office that I'd forgotten earlier," Brass pointedly looked at Warrick, who decided to drop his questioning for now. "That's when I heard some of the Day Shift talking, about some things that I couldn't imagine being true…and when I couldn't reach Nick, I guess I got a little worried. I can see now that he's ok, but obviously I was coming to see you Gil to ask if you knew anything about what was going on out there…and I'm guessing you guys know _something_ or you wouldn't all be here together." Brass politely observed, as he didn't want to ask the wrong question and upset Nick even further, he decided to explain how he'd gotten there and hoped that there would be an explanation offered on Nick's part as well.

Nick continued to stay mute, so Warrick took the lead again as it was obvious no one else in the room was going to speak up.

"I was just in the middle of explaining the whole situation to them. I just got to the part when I left the Crime Lab after hearing the same rumours you did, right after you left, so you haven't really missed anything."

"Oh good! In that case, it's good to know that I'm still in the loop."

Warrick ignored the slight jibe from the Captain and gestured to Catherine, "Remember when I called you earlier?"

The blonde nodded an affirmative, "Well, I wasn't completely telling the truth when I told you that I needed to talk to Nick about his case. Actually, Brass _did_ ask me to tell Nick something, but it wasn't the main reason why I called…

. Oo0oO. Oo0oO. Oo0oO.

_The incessant ringing of the telephone welcomed Catherine into consciousness as she tiredly turned over in her bed to grab the phone off its hook. She sent up a silent prayer to any and all deities out there that she wouldn't have to go into work again, so soon after coming home just a few hours ago. _

_"'lo?"_

_"Hey babe, sorry if I woke you up."_

_Catherine's sour mood changed instantly as the familiar warm baritone of Warrick's voice reached her ears. "Mmm s'ok, I'm just glad to hear your voice, so what's up?"_

_"I just wanted to say hi and catch up with you. So, how was your day?"_

_"It was pretty brutal, but I managed to make some progress with the case so I decided to head home and rest before I pick it up again tomorrow. I'm still waiting on DNA and Tox to get back to me…but ya, if Nicky hadn't helped me earlier, I'd still be at that house collecting the damn evidence." Catherine sighed gratefully._

_"Ya, thank God for small mercies! Hey, speaking of which, did you see Nick before you left?"_

_"Nope, the last I had a glimpse of him was when he and Greg were heading out to the parking lot…Grissom later told me that they were chasing a new lead on their case, so I assume that's where they were going. Why? What's up?"_

_"Oh, it's no big deal…I was just talking to Brass and he told me to tell Nick something. I wasn't sure if Nick was still working, or at home sleeping 'cause I really didn't feel like disturbing him if he was resting," Warrick lied smoothly, as he knew that if Cath got wind of the real reason behind his questioning, she would freak and go into full-on protective mode…and right now, he knew that she needed her rest so he didn't elaborate any further._

_"Well, Griss mentioned that the case was finally getting hot after a pretty frustrating cold spell. So I'm pretty sure the boys are still working it, so they could get as much in as they can. Why don't you try Greg, if you don't wanna disturb Nick? That kid's like an energizer bunny, he doesn't go to bed right away when he gets home so you'll more than likely catch him awake either way!"_

_"Thanks Cath, maybe I will. I'll let you get some rest now, sorry again for waking you from your beauty sleep," Warrick gently teased._

_"Well, Mr. Brown, I'm not sure if I can let **you** off that easy…it's quite hard for me to find time to rest, seeing as I'm a busy lady, but I can always let you make it up to me somehow."_

_"How does a nice, romantic dinner at a restaurant of your choice…followed by some mouth watering dessert at my place sound?"_

_"Sounds perfect! Thanks for makin' my day; I can catch some shut-eye now, 'night Rick."_

_"'night Cath, sweet dreams," Warrick hung up his phone and continued driving towards Nick's apartment. If he wasn't before, he was definitely panicking now as he still hadn't managed to reach Nick or Greg at their respective homes or on their cell phones. This was getting ridiculous. As he reached Nick's place, he slammed his hand against the steering wheel in frustration when he took note that Nick's car wasn't in his drive way. Warrick quickly changed directions without bothering to stop at Nick's place, and headed towards Greg's apartment instead. However, he was completely unprepared to meet one **very** distraught Nick Stokes pacing in the parking lot, with a cell phone attached to his right ear, desperately muttering something to himself._

_Warrick quickly parked and jumped out of his car, with relief washing over him at seeing his best friend unharmed and relatively well. "Nick! What's going on man? Where have you been the past hour? I've been trying to reach you over the phone, even drove out to your place…what are you doing here?!"_

_Nick stopped his pacing and looked up in surprise, as he hadn't seen or heard Warrick drive up and park his car beside Nick's own truck._

_"I can't reach him Rick…and I've been trying and trying and I don't know what to do! I don't know where he is…I tried calling his cell phone, home phone, and even tried banging down his damn apartment door!! T__he neighbor told me that he hadn't seen him all day and even let me in to his place with his spare key to check if anyone was in…and I don't know, oh man, I shouldn't have said all those things…terrible things…I didn't mean any of it, I didn't mean it I swear! I—"_

_Nick's anguished rambling was uncontrollable and he kept at it until Warrick suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders to shake him out of his state, "Nick, slow down! I can't help you if I can't make heads or tails of what you're saying! I need you to calm down ok? Can you do that for me Nicky? Calm down, stop talking and **breathe**."_

_As Nick tried to comply, Warrick walked him over to his car and managed to extract a bottle of water to give to Nick. "Drink this, and get into the car. How long has it been since you ate?"_

_"I don't know, I just want to find him. Please Rick, I __**need** to find him, to apologize, tell him how stupid I've really been, I—"_

_"Nick! What did I tell you? Take a deep breath and try to answer my questions as directly as possible, ok?" Seeing Nick nod reluctantly as they both got into his vehicle, he continued, "When was the last time you ate?"_

_"…I haven't had anything to eat since I started shift…about 13 hours ago…but I think it's been about 5 hours since I had coffee in the break room," Nick managed between breaths as he tried not to hyperventilate from his panic._

_"When did you leave the Crime Lab?"_

_"…it's been a coupla hours."_

_"And you were searching for Sanders this whole time?" Warrick tried to remain calm as he drove them to the nearest diner._

_"Ya, I…I did something terrible War…and I'm not sure if he'll ever forgive me for this…"_

_"Well…why don't we get something to eat, you tell me what happened, and we'll see how much damage control we are facing here."_

_Nick winced as he thought back to the moments that had preceded the big fight that he'd had with Greg in the parking lot._

_-&-_

_**"Wait, he hurt Jason? When? How? You didn't think to tell me this before when we were at the Fleming's?"**_

_**"Nick, relax ok. I would have known if the kid was not telling me something. Don't jump to conclusions before…"**_

_**"Don't jump to conclusions? Greg, have you ever** dealt **with kids who have been abused before?! Do you even** know **how they act? Because that's what they do, they** act**, they pretend that everything's ok, until eventually they start to believe their own stories. You don't know how deep some of these kids bury their shit!" Nick was reeling from his anger, and from what he saw as Greg's incompetence.**_

_**"Listen, I said I'm sorry. And as a somewhat experienced CSI myself, I didn't think the situation even warranted an alarm let alone further investigation ok?..."**_

_**"I see that you still have much to learn Greg because rule number 1, that every rookie CSI learns, is that you never keep your team members out of the loop, no matter how insignificant a piece of information you might think you have……where do you think you're going Sanders? I wasn't finished here!"**_

_**"**Yes you are Stokes!** I'm not going to sit there and let you berate me like a 6 year old, when you know** damn **well that if it was Sara or Warrick in my place you would have just agreed with them or even let it slide without even questioning their judgment."**_

_**"No Sanders, if it had been Sara or Warrick they wouldn't have made the mistake of assuming that everything was alright in the first place."**_

_**"So what are you saying Nick, that I can't do my job right? That I'm not cut out to be a CSI just because the handsome and perfect Nick Stokes commands it so?"**_

_**"You said it, not me!"**_

_**"What the…that is such a stupid line to use because it's a coward's way out! Why don't you grow a pair and tell me how you really feel about me Stokes? Seriously, because I'd love to know what my former best friend really thought about me all this time."**_

**_"If you really want to know Sanders, up until yesterday I thought you weren't such a bad guy but then I found out that you're an_ incompetent, narcissistic, CSI wannabe who's only goal is to suck up to Grissom in order to further his career_…hey, look at that, I just described you're new best friend, David Hodges!...Huh, I never really thought about this before, but you guys are just perfect for each other aren't you? Everything makes sense now, I mean the way you two were being all chummy earlier…you're banging Hodges aren't you?! Is he good for you Greg? Do you like it when he's ramming you?"_**

_-&-_

_Parked in front of the diner, Nick had finished relaying his story to Warrick a few minutes ago and he was now looking at the dark skinned man for some sort of a reaction. Warrick had been strangely quiet the whole time; although he had been listening carefully to every word that had passed Nick's lips, he hadn't uttered a word yet to indicate how he was feeling._

_Suddenly, Nick broke the silence, "War…say something! Please?"_

_Warrick finally looked over at his best friend and calmly stated, "Nick, I have **no** idea why you acted the way you did today, but I swear to GOD, if that kid has done something to hurt himself or worse…I'm going to kick your ass," with that Warrick pealed out of the parking lot heading towards the only man he knew who could possibly fix all of this—Gil Grissom, Night Shift Supervisor, and--Warrick prayed, the resident Miracle Worker._

_._Oo0oO. Oo0oO. Oo0oO.

The silence was overwhelming as Warrick finished with a sigh and silently stared at his co-workers, who were all looking at Nick with different degrees of confusion evident in their eyes and body language. Granted, Catherine was the only one in the room to know the full extent of what exactly had set Nick off; they were all still clueless as to _why_ Nick would take his frustrations out on Greg to such a degree. It hurt to think how Greg might be taking all of this, and where he might be at this very moment. They were all silently wishing that this was all a bad dream and that everything would once again be peachy fine next morning…if only life were like that.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement**

"I don't want any interruptions because I know you might not like what is going to come out of my mouth, but it's a truth that you need to know and remember the rest of your life."

Seeing that Greg was too shocked to object, he continued, "Work with what you got, go after what you want, and don't long for perfection because it's definitely overrated. You've been wasting so much time longing for Nick Stokes that you've been blind to see that the guy's been in love with you this whole time."

As Greg made to object, David quickly shushed him. "I know what you're going to say, so save it! As I told you before Sanders, unlike you I'm not blind or deaf. I saw everything, but I just didn't connect all the pieces of the puzzle until Nick walked outta my lab earlier with murder on his mind. And I can tell you now, that it was _my_ murder he was plotting. You didn't see him, but I did, and he positively turned cold when he caught you earlier trying to hug me. You know, did you ever stop to think why his mood changed so quickly from what I predict a happier one earlier in the shift?"

Greg remained speechless as he tried to take in the implication of the Lab Rat's words. "And you told me that Nick started yelling at you in the car out of nowhere, but did you ever stop to consider your own actions and how they might have affected him? I don't agree with the **way** he chose to reprimand you, but as the more experienced CSI he had the right and responsibility to make sure you were reprimanded. What you did was wrong Greg, and you need to understand that being wrong **isn't** the same as being incompetent. Nick might have come off that way because he let his jealousy colour his words, but the crux of the matter is you're too young and still not experienced enough to have known what to do in a situation like that. Have you ever thought about how Grissom got to where he is right now?"

The sudden question, which seemed to be completely off-topic, caught Greg off-guard and all he could do was to shake his head "no".

"Contrary to what some people might think, Grissom didn't just sprout out of nowhere with all that knowledge in his head pre-programmed. He got to the position he's in right now by asking questions and accepting help, because he knew that no _one_ person can have all the answers…sometimes you have to step up and ask someone for help, because that's how you learn and that's how you gain experience. You got that, Sanders?"

A new realization suddenly dawned on Greg as he heard the older man explain the situation without bias. Nick _always_ took cases that dealt with minors pretty hard, and seeing that the tension between them had already been thick, the Texan had just let his frustration build and finally bubble over unchecked. He had let his prior bad mood color his words as he tried to hide the fact that he was scared. Scared that they may have missed something, scared that something terrible and unspeakable had happened to Jason Fleming, and scared because he couldn't control the situation he was in with Greg. Greg had taken away that control by refusing to hear out his apology, and Grissom had unwittingly aided in making the situation worse by making Greg the primary on their case.

The older man took on a more gentler tone as he continued, "You need to understand that you were _wrong_ to assume that it was ok to leave Nick out when you interviewed the boy. Yeah, you didn't know the kid was going to admit to any form of abuse but the _minute_ you caught even a slight indication of it, you should have mentioned it to Nick privately, if not in front of the kid. He was still the more experienced CSI there, and there is a reason why they partner CSIs up to solve certain cases...it's because one may see what another might miss in a situation like that."

Hodges paused to let Greg think about the tussle in the parking lot in a new light. He hoped that Greg would realize that life wasn't going to give him anything without putting up _some_ sort of a fight; and that he should be willing to fight _hard_ to get what he wanted, instead of longing for it from the protection of his mind.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Grissom's Office**

"So, what's our game plan?" Brass was the first to break the silence as he'd always been the "hands on" one in the group…or so he liked to think. "We have to find Greg, and we can't do it from the safety of your office Gil."

"I agree. We've already wasted time in trying to catch up. Sara, I want you to check up on all of Greg's old haunts. Think of any places that he may have gone to right after the altercation and check it out. Warrick, I want you to track down Hodges. We have no idea if he's involved in this in anyway but since we weren't able to reach him I want to cover all my bases just in case. Brass, I need you to use your contacts in uniform to quietly look out for anyone that fits Greg's description. Cath, I need you to stay here with Nick to make sure someone's here on the off chance that Greg calls or drops by. I'm going to find and "update" Ecklie on what's going on and to assure him that everything was just a misunderstanding…" Grissom paused to address the Texan on a gentler note, "And Nick, I sincerely hope that it _was_ a misunderstanding, on _both_ your parts, and I hope you'll come to realize that not _everything_ is as it appears to be."

With that peculiar statement, Nick was once again left alone to brood over his thoughts while Catherine quietly slipped away to grab him something to eat. She had left, reassuring him that they were going to find Greg, safe and sound, and that everything will get sorted out in due time.

* * *

A/N: "Begin at the beginning" (Gum Drops) is one of my favourite lines from CSI, mainly because it was part of one of my favourite Nick moments ever! I let Warrick use it, as an homage of sorts, a really twisted one…but an homage nonetheless and because I really wanted to use it, and so, there it is! hehe :) Thanks again for reading guys; y'all make my day with your reviews/ concrits :-) Ugh, had a hard time uploading, but I prevailed!! :D


	8. David Hodges, Man in Tights

**Chapter 8: David Hodges, Man in Tights**

Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc...I just like borrowing them 'cause I think the men are so yummy, so sue me! Oh crap, actually please don't...I didn't mean it in the literal sense, I swear!

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom **

Greg had been carefully going through and rehashing the past 18 hours in his head. Starting from the call he had received from Grissom, asking him to come in to work, to the moment David had told him (in no uncertain terms) to get his head out of his arse and go after what he wanted. Greg _still_ couldn't reconcile himself to the fact that Nick Stokes might actually like him romantically, but he was willing to see that he had been partly in the wrong too in this whole matter. Although, something still didn't add up in his mind; one small detail in particular bothered him about this whole affair and so he decided to ask the trace tech about it.

The man in question had his eyes closed, listening to music (stored in his cell phone) while tapping his fingers to a beat _he_ could only hear.

Greg poked him lightly to get his attention, "Hey David! Remember when you said you followed me to the basement?"

The tech suddenly looked up in confusion, "What?"

"When I asked you how you knew where I was…you said that you followed me here."

"Yeah…what has that got to do with anything?" Hodges shifted uncomfortably as he tried to remain as nonchalant as possible.

Greg took note of the slight change in the older man's body language, and continued his questioning, "How did you know to follow me? …and if you followed me here, why didn't you come into the washroom right away? Why did you wait a coupla hours and _then_ come in?"

Slightly taken aback by the barrage of questions, the older man scrambled, "Uh…I wanted to give you some privacy. I knew you were probably crying your eyes out, and I wanted to let you have some dignity at least! What? Is chivalry a crime now?" if he didn't before, David Hodges definitely looked guilty now.

"Chivalry?! David, I'm not a friggin' damsel in distress, and you're _so_ not my Knight in Shining Armour, so answer the damn question!" Greg tried to clamp down on the gnawing feeling in his gut that told him something was amiss, while he nervously waited for the tech's explanation.

"Question**s** you mean. You know I was never into the medieval thing myself…I've always been more of a Justice League man, you know the whole tights and cape thi—"

"HODGES!"

Seeing Greg's expression turn positively murderous, he quickly tried to placate the younger man, "Ok, ok! The truth is I was just getting off shift when I caught you and Stokes arguing in the parking lot, alright? I only got the tail end of your conversation though…the bit you guys were yelling once you got out of the car."

David tried to gauge the CSI's reaction, and seeing that the blonde was _trying_ to remain calm, he nervously continued, "Anyway, once I saw you heading back towards the Crime Lab, I backtracked to the front desk and pretended to be talking to Judy so I can have my back to you. I tried to remain inconspicuous while I followed you to the basement, to make sure you were ok, and _that's_ when I saw you enter the bathroom!" Hodges finished with a flourish.

There was a pregnant pause, which was broken by Greg's "…**AND?**"

"What do you mean "**AND?**" I just told you every—"

"**HODGES!!**"

David subtly started scooting away from the former Lab Rat. "Ok, ok! I saw you enter the bathroom and…uh, I may have heard you crying and could possibly have gonebacktoconfrontNick," Hodges finished in a rush, and cringed while he waited for the proverbial shit to hit the fan.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Layout Room **

Sara sat at the layout table pouring through the things she had found in Greg's locker to gain any clues as to where he may have possibly gone to after the fight. It looked like he had left everything behind, _except_ his keys, wallet, and cell phone—all of which he kept on his person at all times. His backpack rested on one corner of the table, and its belongings were now neatly laid out in front of her. An ipod, an extra set of clothes, an Axe deodorant, a towel, and expensive looking toiletries were among the things spread out. She had been hoping to find a planner or _something_ that might give her a lead as to where he might be, but she had no such luck. The effects laid out on the table didn't look like anything that Greg would desperately need to take with him, wherever he had went, so she gave up on the material things.

She grabbed a notepad and quickly started jotting down the names of places and people she had ever heard Greg mention, to see if she could figure out his whereabouts that way. She did this as she tried not to think about what Greg may be going through right now, because if she started down that path she knew it would inevitably lead to pointing fingers and laying blame. And she definitely did not want to make the situation any worse by going after Nick Stokes for what he had inadvertently done to the younger man.

She had every reason to believe that this whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. She knew in her heart that Nick couldn't have meant anything he'd said to the blonde, because she had seen how they were together. They were the epitome of best friends. She had watched them while they bantered back and forth, laughed with them when they tried to one up each other, and was well aware of their protectiveness towards one another. They always had each other's backs, and one always made sure the other would let it go if a case was getting too personal or a shift was getting too hard on him.

Sara _also_ knew that when it came to minors, Nick was sometimes likely to go off the deep end if someone didn't keep him in check. She had witnessed it personally when they were searching for Cassie McBride, and she also knew that it hit Nick harder than most when children were involved in any way. She knew all of this, yet she _still_ couldn't stop being mad at Nick for hurting Greg in such a way. She just wished she knew how to find and bring Greg back. The one good thing in her life was the stability that was provided to her by Grissom and their little "family"…and right now that family seemed like it was about to slip right through her fingers.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Hallway **

"Ouf!"

"Oh my!"

"Shit! I'm so sorry Judy, I barely saw you there! Thanks, but I can get that." Judy had been in a hurry to get to work after she had been called in early, and she barely saw Warrick slip out of the HR office before she almost ran into him head on. She tried to pick up the papers that had fallen from Warrick's hands and noticed that they contained information about David Hodges.

"Oh, I didn't realize you guys were looking into David! Has something happened to him?"

"Uh, why would you ask that?" Warrick tried not to give anything away as he casually walked her to the front desk on his way out to his own car.

"Oh no, I just thought…well, I saw David earlier when I was preparing to leave. He just seemed very distracted, off, not like he usually is you know?"

Warrick quirked an eyebrow at this, _when was that guy __**not**__ off?_, and politely inquired, "What do you mean Judy? When did you see him last?"

"Well, he rarely ever talks to the people at the front desk, but he _does_ talk to me whenever he sees me. It's just that, I noticed that he seemed a little distracted when he was leaving after work. He had put in some OT apparently and he said he was happy to be going home after a long shift but I thought it strange he didn't leave to go out but headed right back into the lab. It just seemed weird that he suddenly came up to me and started talking to me about the weather, and just as suddenly headed further into the building like he had something to do…" Judy trailed off, as she realized that the CSI had probably encountered much stranger things in his line of work than what she was describing, so she backtracked and told him it was probably nothing before getting back to work.

_Now, that __**is**__ off._ "Hey Judy, wait up! I was just trying to find him to let him know that I had found his wallet. But, do you have any idea when exactly you saw him? I just don't want to bother him if he's catching up on some shut-eye."

"Oh, about 7 or 8 hours ago…I got called in early, so I have to get back Warrick."

"Oh, no problem, thanks a lot Judy!" _Thank you, indeed. You may have just given us the break we needed!_ Warrick realized that Hodges may have been around when Nick and Greg were arguing in the parking lot, and he quickly left to confirm the timeline with Brass.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Grissom's Office **

Nick couldn't take sitting still anymore, so he got up to pace across the room as he rehashed everything that had happened since he had begun his shift approximately 18 hours ago. This was about the 100th time he was going through the different "what if?" scenarios in his head and he finally gave up. He couldn't go through it anymore. What was done was done, and there was no turning back. The only thing he could do now was move forward. He momentarily stopped his pacing, as he tried to figure out a way to set everything straight, starting with finding and apologizing to the love of his life—Greg Sanders, former Lab Rat, and currently the man responsible for the ache in his heart. He just couldn't believe that Greg could stay missing for so long and of own his free will, because he knew (if anything) the younger man wouldn't willingly worry his other friends even if he was mad at Nick. At least, he _hoped_ this was the case because, _apparently_ he didn't know _everything_ about Greg Sanders that he thought he knew—according to one annoying, yet regrettably insightful, David Hodges. _I'm NOT going to think about that now! _He halted that particular train of thought and continued his pacing once more as a kernel of a plan started growing in his mind.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom **

"You did **WHAT?!**" Greg's voice exploded in the quiet of the bathroom and Hodges was positive that they would have heard it in China if the basement walls weren't so thick…ok, so _maybe_ he was exaggerating a little, but he was entitled dammit! All he did was try to help the kid, and now he was getting yelled at for it? How was that fair?!

"David EUGENE Hodges!"

"Hey! Eugene's not my…"

"I DON'T CARE! It **IS** now! I can't BELIEVE you!! How COULD you?" Greg was now pacing back and forth, from wall to wall, like a caged tiger incensed at its captivity…ok, well, more like a caged Norwegian Forest Cat pissed off at its owner…but the point was Greg was mad, _really_ mad. He was pacing and screaming at the top of his lungs, asking how **stupid** can Hodges get? And how dare he even **assume** that it would be ok to confront Nick on his behalf? And so on and so forth…but Hodges really wasn't paying much attention to the _words_ per se, because he was too busy making sure that Greg wouldn't suddenly lunge at him in his anger. _Although_ the older man fully had faith in himself to fight back, the kid _did_ have 10 years on him, plus the Muay Thai lessons to back him up, _and_ he probably played a lot more handball so he'd have one hell of a death grip if he tried to choke—ewww! Oh my GOD! He _did not_ just think of Greg Sanders spanking the monkey with another guy! Oh GOD!

The trace tech suddenly stopped his silent rant, and paused his rocking back and forth, when he realized that Greg was no longer yelling at him, but was now seething quietly while he waited for a reply _from_ him. _Oh crap! What did he just ask me? Ok, remain calm, cool, and collected. Nonchalant is the word of the day Hodges…__**don't**__ piss him off even more than he already is. _

"Um…yes?"

"Yes WHAT Hodges?"

"…to whatever you just asked me of course."

"You weren't paying **any** attention **whatsoever** to what I've been telling you the past half hour, **have you?!**"

"Yes, I was! …it was just that, I uh…I was just trying to find a good way to explain everything to you, and you know I can never do more than one thing at a time…"

"Shut up David! I can't BELIEVE you did what you did! Tell me exactly what happened, _truthfully_ this time, and I swear to GOD…"

"Hey! I never lied to you!"

"Lying by omission is still a lie, GENIUS!! Now tell me or…"

"OK! OK! Geez, calm down Sanders! I'll tell you everything, ok? Just calm down!"

* * *

**Crime Lab: Ecklie's Office**

Grissom knocked on Ecklie's door before walking in to confront the Assistant Director. It was going to be now or never, and although Grissom wished it was under more ideal circumstances, he knew this conversation had to be taken care of as soon as possible.

"Gil, come on in. Take a seat." Ecklie gestured for Grissom to sit while he pulled up a hard copy of the memo that had been recently typed up and sent out to all personnel via the crime lab's office email.

"I see that you've been busy Conrad. Were you able to stop the fire in time?"

"Ya, Griss, I think I have it staved off for now…but you gotta understand, this is going to look bad if the media gets wind of the real reason behind this whole thing if Nick and Greg _were_ in the wrong."

Grissom remained silent, as Ecklie continued, "If the rumours are true and if Nick and Greg have been dating since Greg used to work in DNA…never mind the number of cases that may come under fire, due to conflict of interest, the Under Sheriff is going to have our asses for this. That kind of public display on LVPD property is a PR nightmare and he's _already_ pissed off as it is over the Demetrius James affair. Also, _you_ know, and _I_ know, that Sanders is technically lower on the food chain than Nick but definitely doesn't work under him in any way. But other people, like a jury for example, may not necessarily see the difference. So, we may have to place them on separate teams to prove that no favoritism is being shown and that there's no conflict of interest going on. Would you be able to handle that Griss? Losing one of your team members to another Shift? The lab will be taking heat from all sides and it would be worse if it gets out that one of our CSIs is missing following a public scuffle in the Crime Lab's parking lot."

Grissom was slightly taken aback that Ecklie knew about Greg's disappearance, but he only quirked an eyebrow in silent question. "Don't look too surprised Gil. I'm the Assistant Director of this lab for a reason. I know everything that goes on in my lab, and that includes one employee who is still missing, am I correct?"

"Yes you are Conrad, but I have every confidence that our team will find him again, alive and well. With that said, I have to tell you that Nick and Greg _did_ have an altercation earlier, but I can't confirm or deny their relationship status because I don't know myself at this point. What I _can_ tell you, however, is that it was a misunderstanding between friends that should have _stayed_ between the two. And that it's only being blown out of proportion because it is _perceived_ that they might be a same-sex couple. Let's not bullshit Conrad. _You_ know, and _I_ know, and I'm pretty sure _the 10 year old across the street from my house_ knows that this whole situation wouldn't be such a "PR nightmare" if the people involved were heterosexual. Am I correct?"

Grissom didn't wait for Ecklie to object as he moved on, "Sexual orientation should have _nothing_ to do with how well one can perform at work _Conrad, _because, if anything, both Nick and Greg are stellar examples of LVPD's finest. Greg Sanders has excellent work ethics and he's a brilliant scientist as well as a CSI. It doesn't matter what field he's in _now_, he would never have manipulated his results to help Nick's cases when he worked in DNA. Just like he would never ask someone to be less than he himself is, as a CSI and a human being. Nick Stokes has been stalked, buried alive, and left to die all in the line of duty and he's never _once_ complained or threatened to sue the Lab for it. The things you said earlier are mere _inconveniences_ compared to what both boys have gone through, and I'm sure if _they_ chose to sue the LVPD for this and for discrimination in the workplace due to their sexual orientations, I'm pretty sure you could kiss your pension good bye." Grissom finished and waited patiently for Ecklie to respond.

After a brief pause the Assistant Director asked, "Can I hold you to that?"

This openly surprised Grissom, "What?!"

"Can I hold you to what you just told me? Because I'd rather not go at it alone if I were to present this case to the Under Sheriff when, and not if, he demands an explanation about all of this. I was playing the devil's advocate because everything I just told you, I _know_ we will be facing in the future, and if we're going to present our case successfully…we have to do it as a team. I wanted you to realize and be prepared for the sort of things that is sure to come up. So, can I hold you to what you've just told me, and can I assume that I'll have your support?" Ecklie finished solemnly and waited for Grissom's answer.

Grissom merely smiled with appreciation as he nodded an affirmative and left the room feeling much lighter than when he had walked in. The boys deserved some happiness in their lives and everyone's support to go with it. _If we could only find and bring Greg back, we'd all be one step closer to seeing that happen, _Grissom thought as he made his way towards the layout room to find out his team's progress.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Layout Room **

Sara and Catherine looked up from their brainstorming session as Brass and Warrick walked into the room together. They were quickly joined by Grissom as he prompted, "Ok guys, what have we got?"

"We have a list of possible places that Greg may be at, but the list of people is pretty short because we don't know of a lot of people that he might hang out with outside of work. So, I think its best if we split up and check out the places, while one of us checks out the people by phone or in person." Catherine stated as Sara nodded in agreement.

"Catherine? I thought I left you with Nick?" Grissom asked in confusion, as he looked up from the memo he had been reading.

"He has locked himself in your room to "think" and I figured if Greg _were_ to drop by, he would have to walk past this room to get to your office anyway."

Grissom merely nodded, "Warrick, any luck with Hodges?"

"You have no idea Griss! I was down at HR to get his address when I bumped into Judy…and get this, apparently she saw Hodges acting pretty strange earlier."

Warrick could see several faces mirroring different degrees of mock surprise at this statement. "I know what you guys are thinking but listen to this…she said that instead of leaving for home, right after his shift, he went out and then came right back into the lab…and from what it sounds like, he pretended to talk to her for a few seconds, before he walked _further_ into the lab. She also said this happened about 7 or 8 hours ago, around the same time that we know Nick and Greg had their argument."

"I talked to my guys, and some of the Day Shift confirmed that Greg headed _towards_ the Crime Lab after the fight, and if that's the case, then it might explain why I didn't see him after when Nick walked in to interrogate Roland Hughes. Hodges could have confronted Greg and they may have gone somewhere to talk about it?" Brass questioned, slightly troubled with his own theory.

"Talk about it? Guys, I don't like any of what I'm hearing here. I really think we should be looking over the security tapes and getting Nick to confirm what exactly happened after the fight…there are too many holes in this…" Sara tried to clamp down on her sudden panic. She knew that Hodges was a more passive aggressive type and wouldn't physically fight with anyone, but who knew what would set someone off anymore?

"Agreed, and already on it. Archie's looking over the tapes as we speak and I'll grab Nick while you guys head to the A/V Lab," Warrick added while trying to hide his own suspicions. He hadn't thought to ask Nick about why exactly he didn't go after Greg, when _obviously_ the Texan must have been aware of where Greg was heading.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom**

_(Flashback)_

_Hodges was walking out of the lab, after completing a grueling shift (according to him) and was wondering what to get Kobe (his pet cat) for breakfast when he heard a loud noise, like the slamming of a car door, and looked up to see a livid Greg Sanders walking away from an equally angry Nick Stokes. **"Oh wow, I can't believe Sanders actually got the guts to tell Nick about his feelings!"** he mistakenly concluded._

_"…where do you think you're going Sanders? I wasn't finished here!"_

_"Yes you are Stokes! I'm not going to sit there and let you berate me like a 6 year old when you know DAMN well that if it was Sara or Warrick in my place you would have just agreed with them or even let it slide without even questioning their judgment."_

**_Ok, so MAYBE NOT…looks like they're arguing over a case…_**

_"No Sanders, if it HAD been Sara or Warrick they wouldn't have made the mistake of assuming that everything was alright in the first place."_

_"So what are you saying Nick, that I can't do my job right? That I'm not cut out to be a CSI just because the handsome and perfect Nick Stokes commands it so?"_

_"You said it, not me!"_

**_Coward, say what you really think! _**

_"What the…that is such a stupid line to use because it's a coward's way out! Why don't you grow a pair and tell me how you REALLY feel about me Stokes? Seriously, because I'd love to know what my FORMER best friend really thought about me all this time."_

**_OUCH! Former?! Whoa, when did this get so personal?!_**

_"If you REALLY want to know Sanders, up until yesterday I thought you weren't such a bad guy but then I found out that you're an incompetent, narcissistic, CSI wannabe who's only goal is to suck up to Grissom in order to further his career…hey, look at that, I just described you're new best friend, David Hodges!"_

**_WHAT THE F&K?!_**

_"Huh, I never really thought about this before, but you guys are just perfect for each other aren't you? Everything makes sense now, I mean the way you two were being all chummy earlier…you're banging Hodges aren't you?! Is he good for you Greg? Do you like it when he's ramming you?"_

_**HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, He DID NOT just say what I think he did…DID HE?!** Hodges quickly looked around to see if any of the Day Shift trickling in had heard the same thing he had, and judging from the various stunned and some confused looks, he concluded that yes, indeed Stokes was a royal dumbass who couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut before it got him into trouble._

_Time seemed to stand still for a few moments, but just as suddenly it froze, it started up again when Greg quickly squared his shoulders and turned around to rapidly walk towards the Crime Lab._

_**Shit! Sanders, you better not do something stupid! **Hodges quickly started walking back into the lab, and decided to surreptitiously wait around near the front desk to make sure the younger man wouldn't get himself into any trouble. He noticed Greg walking in and heading for the stairs and quickly followed him to the basement, and was consequently confused when he saw the CSI walk into a handicap bathroom. Fearing the worst, he made to follow but pulled back when he realized there were loud sobs coming from the inside. **Dammit, he's crying. The kid's actually crying! Damn, how the hell am I gonna fix this now?**_

_Hodges decided to back up and let the younger man have some privacy. He had a bone to pick with Nick Stokes anyway._

_David didn't have to look far to find Nick again. As he got out of the stairwell he had a glimpse of the Texan walking towards the exit, and the trace tech quickly walked after him to demand an explanation for his behaviour earlier._

_"HEY, STOKES!"_

_Nick was startled when he heard the angry voice behind him and turned to confront the trace tech, "Hodges, what the hell are you doing here?"_

_"You know…I think I should be the one asking the questions, seeing as **you're** the one who was accusing **me** of having sex with Sanders. Isn't that what you said? Or did I hear that wrong?"_

_"Man, this is not the time or place to be having this conversation right now," Nick quickly looked around and found that the parking lot was free of his co-workers, except the one standing in front of him._

_"As opposed to when you and Greg were having a "casual" conversation earlier? Save it Stokes! I saw everything that happened in the parking lot, and I want an explanation and I want it **now**!"_

_Hodges was not going to take any of his BS and Nick quickly realized this and tried to placate the Lab Rat. "Look, I made a mistake and I'm sorry for that. I got carried away with my temper and didn't realize where I was or what I was saying. I shouldn't have said anything to imply that you weren't straight, or that you and Greg were having sex, or even that you guys had a relationship that was anything more than platonic, ok? I'm sorry for all of that, and I apologize profusely for it. Please, could you let this go, just once?" Nick desperately wished that he hadn't said those things to Greg and wanted to get away from the Crime Lab so he can find and tell all of this to Greg himself. He had realized how stupid the words really sounded only after they had come out of his mouth, and he had been too embarrassed to go after Greg until panic had set in during mid-interrogation._

_David saw that Nick really was sorry about all of this, and was merely being a jealous jerk earlier when he had let his temper get the better of him. He nodded and said, "This better get cleared up Stokes, and you better apologize to the kid or you'll regret it."_

_The mild threat in the Tech's voice could clearly be heard, and Nick was taken aback as he said, "What do you mean?"_

_"I **mean**, you're going to lose your best friend and love interest if you don't apologize to him right away," Hodges calmly explained._

_"Wha…what are you talking about Hodges?" Nick tried to force down his panic at the words, and focused on denying anything that the tech might imply._

_"Stokes, either you're in denial or you **know** that you're gay and you're consciously refusing to admit to anyone that you're in love with Greg Sanders. So, which is it Stokes?"_

_Nick gaped at the trace tech and started tripping over his words, "I…uh, you…I mean, how the hell do you know anything about any of this Hodges?"_

_"So, you admit to liking Sanders." It wasn't a question, and they both knew that. "Did you ever think about how Greg might feel about all of this? You might think you know everything about him Stokes, but you don't! So you better leave that stubborn pride at the door before you confront him about your feelings. And I mean your **real** feelings, none of that platonic best friend BS!"_

_Nick was startled and confused by the Tech's words…he couldn't possibly mean that Greg had more than friendly feelings for him, could he? Nick paused to carefully choose his words before saying, "Look, I know I've been an idiot about this whole thing so let me explain something to you. I know I'm bisexual and I'm not afraid of admitting that to anyone. I just don't advertise it, and I'd appreciate it if you don't parade this to everyone ok? I'm comfortable with who I am, but I know that a lot of people aren't so I keep it to myself and don't flaunt it in front of everyone. And yes, I like Greg Sanders, and I realize now that I've been a damn fool in letting him know the way I did…well, I'm sure yelling at him in a jealous rage doesn't constitute saying "I like you" but I realize now that that's what I wanted to say, but it came out in the worst way possible."_

_Nick took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry again for the inconvenience this has caused you, but if you'll excuse me I have to be somewhere right now."_

_Hodges was completely taken aback by the Texan's honest words and before he realized what was happening Nick Stokes was already in his car and pealing out of the parking lot without another word._

.Oo0oO.

"And that's what happened ok? I tried running after the car, but either he was ignoring me or more likely was too focused on finding you to notice me, but I couldn't catch him in time. I figured the long drive will probably do him some good, and give me some time to fix this mess he made with you," Hodges finished tiredly and waited for Greg's reaction. He was getting too old to be facing this kind of drama; wasn't this angst supposed to be for teenagers? The _one_ time he decided to come out of his "people free" zone and help someone, this is what he gets! It figures…he never had the best of luck with anything anyway.

The past hour had brought so many revelations to him, that Greg didn't think he could process everything. How had he not seen that Nicky had actually had feelings for him? Were the both of them so blind that they had actually ignored the other's obvious flirting? He thought back on all the times they had hung out together and realized that it was definitely what they were doing. Flirting and in a weird way dating…Oh my GOD! They had actually been dating without realizing it! How _stupid_ can two people get?!

* * *

**Crime Lab: A/V Lab **

Nick had realized, during the drive to Greg's place, that he had been too jealous to see that Hodges only meant to help and not hurt his friendship with Greg. Nick didn't mention the conversation he had with David to anyone because he was embarrassed to admit that the Trace Tech knew about his feelings long before he himself had. And also, he didn't want to have to admit his feelings for Greg to anyone yet. He wanted Greg to be the first to know…well, technically second but he didn't think David Hodges made it his business to personally track down and tell Greg about any of this. At least, he hadn't thought he did until he saw Hodges do exactly that on the Plasma screen in front of him.

The entire team had been assembled in the A/V lab within seconds of Warrick's request to do so, and Archie brought them up to date with what he had discovered in the tapes. The video was in black and white, and contained no audio. The recording showed David Hodges talk to Judy before he presumably left to go home, and mere minutes later he headed right back in and attempted to strike up a conversation with her again. It was obvious to anyone watching, even an amateur, that the conversation was forced and his true intent was something else.

That something else, they quickly discovered, was to follow Greg as soon as he had entered the Crime Lab. From this, they deduced that Hodges _had_ seen the yelling in the parking lot, and wanted to confront Greg. As different camera shots were pulled, they could see Hodges follow Greg to the stairwell and down the basement.

The strange thing was, they saw Greg enter a room in the basement they didn't know existed, watched David make as if to follow him inside…but quickly back up without entering it, which puzzled them even more.

It was clear from watching the camera footage that Greg was upset and was trying to get away from everyone. But it was puzzling to see David's actions and wondered what it all meant in terms of the bigger picture.

Archie pulled up another shot, this one showed Hodges exit the stairwell and walk rapidly towards the entrance of the Crime Lab. And another angle showed that Hodges was heading towards, none other than, Nick Stokes.

The entire team looked back at Nick with surprise, but he stayed stubbornly silent as he continued to watch the scene play out in front of him. They looked back at the screen as it showed another angle, now from the parking lot, where they could clearly see Hodges and Nick were having a conversation.

Nick saw all of this, but he failed to see Hodges try to run after his car in the parking lot because he was already out the door and headed towards the basement room, where he just _knew_ in his gut that Hodges was sitting, trying to "comfort" _his_ Greg! The same words echoed within his mind as he walked with single minded intensity.

_"I __**mean**__, you're going to lose your best friend and love interest if you don't apologize to him right away...Did you ever think about how Greg might feel about all of this?...You might think you know everything about him Stokes, but you don't!...you're going to lose your best friend and love interest.…You might think you know everything about him Stokes, but you don't!..." _

He tried not to think about where Greg might be, if he couldn't find the blonde in the basement room. He tried not to picture Hodges taking Greg to his home or making love to him…all in the name of "comforting" him. _The little __**RAT!**__ He lied and acted like he was being supportive until he got as much information as he could from me and decided to use it to help himself to __**my**__ Greg! The LITTLE SHIT, he's going to PAY for this! I'm gonna fuckin' __**END**__ you DAVID HODGES, and you better __**pray**__ that there's an angel out there waiting to help you!_

* * *

A/N: Duhn duhn duhnnn! LOL, I've always wanted to do that :) Seriously, thanks for reading guys! I love you all for takin' the time to read and review, it really makes my day :) Hope you liked this chap, 'cause it was really fun to write.

bearchiy: I really love Greg/Hodges friendship too; I think their banter is hilarious and basically mirrors how my best friend and I get along as well haha :D

AA/N : Believe it or not, there **is** such a thing as a Norwegian Forest Cat and damn, if Greggo were to be an animal he would be this!!

(From Wikipedia) Norwegian Forest Cats are an intelligent, robust and playful breed ( sound like anyone we know??). Their hind legs are longer than their front legs (And damn, if Greg doesn't have LONG legs!!). They like the outdoors, are well suited to cold conditions and are great hunters. Despite their great affection for the outdoors, they also enjoy the company of humans and other pets and will sometimes go looking for company if left alone by their owners. ( Hellooooooo! totally describe's Greg to a T!)

WOW, that was a long ass author's note, bye for now ;-)


	9. Nobody's Fault But Mine

**Chapter 9: Nobody's Fault But Mine**

Disclaimer: NOT MINE! CSI belongs to CBS, Mr, Jerry Bruckheimer, etc...Lyrics are from "Nobody's Fault but Mine" by Led Zeppelin (My First Love). Furthermore, the allusion to the song "He ain't heavy, he's my brother" by the Hollies, is a shout-out to Lab Rat Greggo (My Backdoor Lover--NOT that kind of backdoor, sheesh people! LOL). Enjoy, and thanks for reading guys! :-)

* * *

_Nobody's fault but mine  
It's nobody's fault but mine  
Try to save my soul tonight  
Oh, it's nobody's fault but mine_

.Oo0oO.

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom**

Hodges had been waiting for Greg to respond since his admission about his confrontation with Nick, but the younger man seemed to be in a world of his own, lost in thoughts unknown. They were once again sitting, side by side, both facing the stall doors straight ahead as they silently ruminated. The CSI had long since seized his manic pacing; a combination of the emotional upheavals that he had gone through, plus a lack of proper nutrition over the past several hours finally getting to him. David worried that the blonde might faint unconscious if he didn't get anything in him soon, and was just about to suggest leaving the "doomsday hole," as he had so fondly dubbed the bathroom, when Greg finally spoke up.

"Thank you, David."

Startled to hear the hoarse voice, the trace tech gave the tiniest of nods, but remained silent as he turned to face the blonde. He didn't know how to respond to Greg's statement, so he said nothing.

"Thank you for wanting to make sure that I wouldn't do anything stupid after my fight with Nick. Thank you for caring enough to not even _think_ about going after him, until you made sure I was ok. Thank you for standing up for me when I couldn't do it for myself, and thank you for looking after me when I didn't think I needed it," Greg paused to face the Lab Tech, so he could make sure the other man fully understood how he felt.

"I know you didn't have to do any of it because you could just as easily have left all of it well enough alone. You could have walked away, after you heard the car door slam, or after you saw us yelling at each other, or even after you confronted Nick about what he said about you and me…but you didn't. So, thanks for being a good friend, when I didn't even know that I _had_ a friend standing by me," Greg was now struggling not to cry as he admitted his gratitude to the older man.

Hodges was struck dumb as he saw the extent to which Greg was affected by all of this. The older man could never have guessed, when he had woken up to go to work mere _hours_ ago, that he would later be sitting on the floor of a handicap washroom, trying to comfort one distraught Greg Sanders. He had never expected any of this to happen, and until Greg himself summed it up for him, the older man hadn't realized to what extent he had even cared about the younger CSI. Looking at him, it felt like he was looking at his pseudo little brother. When Greg had asked him earlier, about why he was there in that washroom, he honestly couldn't find an answer and so he had replied truthfully that he didn't know…but now he knew, _now_ he understood. He merely nodded again and squeezed the blonde's shoulder in silent recognition and support.

* * *

**Crime Lab: A/V Room**

The entire team had their eyes glued to the screen, so they didn't notice when Nick slipped out of the room with Hodges' contact information in his hands. Nick hadn't wanted to take any chances; if he couldn't find Greg downstairs, he was definitely going to track down Hodges and demand to know where Greg was.

The recording on the video now showed Hodges running after Nick's vehicle and, realizing that it was pointless, they saw him finally trudging back towards the Lab. Once again, everyone turned to look back at Nick and they were startled to find that he was no longer standing behind them.

"Shit! Where did he go?" Warrick's voice gave away his panic, as he now had a pretty good idea as to what may have happened earlier in the parking lot between Hodges and Nick, and the reason behind Nick's sudden disappearance now.

"Bet you anything that he's headed over to Hodges' house right now," Brass observed with frustration as he also came to the same conclusion as Warrick.

"Uh…guys, I think Brass might be right…Hodges' contact information, the papers, they're all gone," Sara informed everyone as she turned to the table that a folder had been sitting on and found it empty of its meager contents.

"Warrick, get to the parking lot to see if you could head him off!"

Warrick was already out the door before Grissom could finish his sentence. He then turned to the A/V Tech, "Arch, did you find out where David headed after Nick left?"

"Yeah, I'm pulling it up right now. Ok, here it is. Looks like he's heading past the front desk, and…ok, ya, he's heading for the stairwell again…and…one second…there it is. He's headed for the basement room for sure."

"Ok, fast forward and give me the time stamp on when Greg and Hodges leave the room."

"Sure…hold on…1…2…3…4 hours and they still haven't left. Wait, the last 3 hours have to be pulled directly from the system. They haven't been made into a hard copy yet, so hold on."

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement Hallway**

Nick's blood was boiling with fury; he couldn't _believe_ that Hodges would lie to his face like he had. The man _fully_ knew where Greg was, and most definitely must have suspected that Nick was looking for him, and the RAT _still_ hadn't mentioned anything to him about Greg's whereabouts. He realized now that the Tech was probably laughing to himself when they had been talking earlier in the parking lot. The bastard was gonna pay for this!

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom **

Even though his throat hurt from trying to clamp down on his emotions, Greg continued, "David, I don't think I would have realized how stubborn I was being until you knocked some sense into me. So, thanks for giving me the privacy when I wanted it and for kicking my ass when I needed it…I've always been a guy who went after exactly what I wanted. After the…the explosion in the lab…I couldn't take staying cooped up in a room anymore. I wanted to get out, become a CSI…and that's exactly what I did. But, somewhere along the way, I let my stubbornness to achieve what I want, turn into something else…I…I was being childish for refusing to show Nick that I needed help and for refusing to hear him out when he tried to apologize earlier…"

Hodges tried to interject, "Greg, you don't have to…"

"NO DAVID! It's one thing to _suspect_ and another thing to _know_. Now you know exactly how I feel about everything you've done for me. For everything you've helped me realize!"

Nick stilled, his hands resting on the door handle, when he heard Greg's sudden exclamation from inside the room. His gut clenched, as he could only imagine what had occurred minutes earlier in that room to hear such conviction in Greg's voice. He couldn't make his feet move, as if his mind was taking some perverse pleasure in torturing him further by making him hear out what Greg had to say to, what he now definitely knew, the Trace Tech on the other side of the door.

"He was being just as stubborn as I was, and I realize that now…You know, I always looked up to him and he was one of the reasons why I wanted to go out on the field."

Nick didn't have to think too hard to recognize that the "he" that Greg was referring to was Nick himself, and the older CSI felt a little niggling of worry creep up when he heard Greg's voice take on a slightly sad note.

"He has always been so compassionate, wanting to give voice to the victims when they themselves couldn't. He seemed like Super Man, you know? That's one of the reasons why I printed out that Crime Stopper article…remember that?" It was a rhetorical question, but David nodded his head anyway, if only to assure the younger man that he was being heard.

"I was just as much of a fan of Nick Stokes as those people out there," Greg gestured vaguely to the world in general and Hodges knew exactly what he meant. Nick Stokes definitely had the reputation of being a Man of Steel. The guy had brushed off being held at gun point, was back at work without a care after being stalked, and had literally risen from the grave after he was buried alive and left to die.

Unaware of Nick's presence outside the washroom door, Greg continued to speak, "I had this whole picture built in my head about him being this great, impervious, perfect, and more importantly _unattainable_ guy, that I didn't realize that I was putting him up on a pedestal until _after_ reality came crashing it down."

Nick's heart constricted at hearing Greg's description of him, and he noticed that everything was said in the past tense. It sounded like Greg no longer felt that way about Nick anymore…like he had finally woken up and seen who Nick really was, and he couldn't take the ugly picture that Nick _truly_ portrayed.

The older CSI couldn't stomach this thought, so he backed off as his vision blurred. He tried blinking, but couldn't clear it, as he realized that the reason behind his sudden visual impairment was the tears that were now streaming down his face. He blindly started to head back towards the stairwell, his heart breaking all over again, as he realized how _stupid_ he really had been not to see how much he had meant to Greg…stupid for taking the blonde's feelings for granted, and an idiot for letting the other man slip right through his fingers. Nick Stokes had held a precious thing in his hands and before he realized its value, he let it crack and shatter like a clay pot in an overheated kiln.

* * *

**Crime Lab: A/V Room **

"Ok, got it!"

Archie's sudden excitement drew the team once more towards the Plasma screen. It hadn't taken long for Archie to redirect the most recent recordings, as well as the live feed of the basement hallway, to his own computer.

Warrick came rushing back at the same moment, breathless from his run to the parking lot and back, and exclaimed, "Couldn't find…but his truck…still in the parking lot!"

"We were just about to see what happened to Hodges and Greg after Nick pealed outta the parking lot earlier," Catherine filled Warrick in as they once again saw the screen, now on fast forward as Archie tried to find and pull up the time stamp on when Greg and Hodges would have left the basement room.

"Seems to be no activity yet……whoa…what the?" Archie quickly cut himself off as he carefully checked once more, going backwards and forwards and getting the same result. "Guys, it looks like they never left the room since Hodges walked in there earlier!"

Archie's statement served to be anti-climatic as the whole team had already realized, from watching the most recent recording as well as the previous tapes, that neither man had stepped out of that room since Hodges had entered it about 8 hours ago.

"Listen, the thing is we can _only_ pull the video recordings up until an hour ago…but the hour it's recording _**right now**_ we won't be able to watch until it officially gets archived in the system. So they may have left like a few minutes ago, and it wouldn't come up yet," Archie explained, vainly trying to restore their hope.

Grissom promptly asked Archie to pull up the **live** feed, and they watched in surprise as the grainy picture showed Nick walking away from the door of the basement room with his back to the camera. They breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that Nick hadn't gone far. But they quickly became conscious of the fact that if Nick was heading _away_ from the room, Hodges and Greg were probably not in that room after all…dammit, they were back to square one again!

"How could two guys get out of the damn basement without us knowing about it? Is there another exit? What _is_ that room anyway?" Warrick was frustrated with the whole scenario, and he was quickly losing his patience.

"Don't forget we still have the one hour window in between that we haven't accounted for yet, so we won't know anything for sure unless we go down there and take a look. Warrick, I want you to find Nick before he gets into anymore trouble. Archie, you call me as soon as the thing gets archived, and let me know if you get anything probative, while I head down to the basement to check it out myself. Cath, since our shifts will officially start soon, I need you and Sara to work the murder-suicide you still have on your plate." Grissom quickly held up a hand to hush everyone before their protests could get any louder.

"Listen guys. We were operating on an assumption that Greg had disappeared somewhere, and that he may have gotten hurt. Judging by that tape, all it looked like was that Hodges was trying to talk to Nick, and like the hot head he is being right now, Nick probably left before he could even hear out what Hodges had to say to him," He watched their faces as they slowly began to put everything together.

"It's entirely possible that Greg and Hodges are still in that room right now and that they're both safe. We just have to find them to make sense of everything and I think Warrick and I can handle that. We still have work to do, so I really need you guys to cover for us…can you do that?" Grissom looked pleadingly at Brass and hoped that the rest of the team would hear him out. After a few seconds, he watched them finally nod their heads one by one with halfhearted acceptance.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Basement Bathroom**

"He has always been so compassionate, wanting to give voice to the victims when they themselves couldn't. He seemed like Super Man, you know? That's one of the reasons why I printed out that Crime Stopper article, remember that? I was just as much of a fan of Nick Stokes, as those people out there," Greg gestured vaguely to the world in general and continued speaking.

"I had this whole picture built in my head about him being this great, impervious, perfect, and more importantly _unattainable_ guy, that I didn't realize that I was putting him up on a pedestal until _after_ reality came crashing it down," Greg was feeling every minute of the past 20 hours that he'd been awake, but ignored his exhaustion as he was suddenly hit with an epiphany.

"Dave! Do you realize what I've been doing?! I was _deliberately_ making him into something that I _can't_ attain! I realize that now…that he's just human, just like you or me or Grissom…well, maybe not _exactly_ like Grissom, but you know what I mean right?!"

Hodges looked puzzled at this outburst and started to worry even more because he could clearly tell that all that kept Greg going right now was a burst of adrenaline, "Ya, sure Greg. I know exactly what you mean, but you know what tho—"

"Of course you know! You _always_ seem to see the things that the rest of us seem to miss, Dave. Well, now I know what I've been doing, and I'm going to fix it, and fix it I will right now!"

Greg made to get up, but quickly sat down again as he got a head rush from a combination of getting up too fast, and his mental and physical fatigue catching up with him. David grabbed him by the shoulders and they both got up together this time.

"Greg, when was the last time you ate anything?" The older man fought back his panic as he tried to guide the CSI towards the washroom door, and felt the blonde lean heavily on him.

"Um…not sure, I think before I started shift, or maybe before I went to sleep last…like a million years ago," Greg let out laugh that sounded more like the love child of a bark and a pained cry. "Whoa, David, my stomach hurts…"

"Possibly because you haven't eaten or drunk anything in over 20 HOURS! Why didn't you say anything earlier?! Sanders, you're a stubborn ass you know that?!" Hodges was furious with himself for not getting the younger man out of that washroom sooner.

"I didn't _feel_ hungry! Ow…sorry, I _have_ been a stubborn idiot haven't I? God, I can't wait to see Nick again and tell him how much of a coward I've been this whole time, and how much I love him. I can't _believe_ I put this off for so long. It's all my fault!" with that final declaration, Greg promptly fainted.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Parking Lot **

"Where do you think you're goin' man?" The low, yet deadly calm, voice startled Nick enough to make him slightly stumble just as he got to his truck. He hadn't heard Warrick come up behind him until the other man had decided to give away his presence.

"Warrick, I don't feel like talkin' right now ok? I need to be alone…I…I need some privacy right now." Nick struggled to keep his voice under control as he continued to face away from the other CSI, his hands now struggling to find the right keys to open the car door.

"That's _exactly_ the kind of attitude that got you into trouble in the first place! Now turn around and let me see your face because your voice ain't hidin' anything!" Warrick's harsh reprimand instantly got Nick to turn before he even knew what he was doing.

"Look man, I really don't need to hear this right now because I feel like shit already and I don't need you to tell me that I _look_ like shit too!" Nick decided to play defense, because he really wanted to get the hell away from the Lab, and _especially_ the damn parking lot! It was rapidly getting to be the **least** favourite place on Earth for him.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were in love with Greg?"

This pulled Nick up short, as he hadn't anticipated that particular question to come from his friend _and_ to be delivered in such a matter of fact tone, like he was demanding Nick why he hadn't called him to come over and watch the Super Bowl together.

* * *

**Basement: Hallway**

David had tried to wake Greg, but had only managed to get a small groan out of him before he slipped further into oblivion. Hodges figured the other man probably needed the rest anyway, so he decided to keep walking and hopefully get some help from someone upstairs. He lightly held Greg's left arm, which was now draped across the tech's shoulders, while he supported Greg's weight by holding onto him at the waist. They looked like a pair of drunken college buddies, except one was a dead weight being lugged around by the other quite sober and conscious man. David struggled to support Greg, as he walk/dragged the both of them towards the elevators. The kid was thin as a bamboo, and Hodges wished he was just as light, but no such luck. Greg only _looked_ slim, but he was quite heavy because he was doing nothing to support himself, and he was slightly taller too.

Hodges swayed a little, and burst out into muffled laughter when he realized his predicament and started humming "He ain't heavy, he's my brother" as he slowly made his way along the corridor. He exploded into another fit as he realized the irony of the lyrics as the exhaustion of the day started to catch up with him as well.

He was too busy trying to get some leverage to push the call button for the elevator to notice that the doors had already opened to the one on his right. Suffice it to say, they were both equally startled when Grissom suddenly walked out of the elevator to find the "lost" pair standing mere inches away from him, and to hear David Hodges humming to himself—_very_ loudly.

"Hodges! What the heck happened?!" Grissom recovered first and demanded an explanation as he noticed Greg's unconscious state.

"You know Grissom, I could use a little help here. You wouldn't know it by seeing him, but he's _damn_ heavy," Hodges remarked once he got his heart rate back to normal.

"Funny, I didn't think he _was_," Grissom dryly commented as he quickly moved to do just that. He guided them over to the morgue, which was closer, and he figured if anyone would know what to do…it would be Doc Robins.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Parking Lot**

"I asked you a question Nick, you gonna answer anytime soon, like maybe sometime in the next _century_?" Warrick was trying hard to keep his frustration under control while he waited for Nick to respond and he was failing miserably.

Shook out of his surprised stupor, and suddenly angry that everyone seemed to be meddling in his life, Nick lashed out. "What? Does everyone know my business now?!"

"Wake up Nick! Where the _hell_ have you been the past 8 hours? The minute you chose to verbally assault Sanders, **in front of the whole Lab**, your "**business**" might as well have been splashed across the Lab's newsletter!" Warrick was getting tired of Nick's selfish and childish behaviour, and he wasn't going to let it go until Nick realized how he was acting.

"Ok, FINE! You wanted an answer? I'll give you some! **YES**, I'm in love with Greg and **NO**, I **DO** **NOT** wanna talk about it. **OF** **COURSE** I realize I acted like a jerk earlier, but it's only 'cause I didn't think before I spoke. And I can't do **ANYTHING** about it now, because he's already realized that I'm a **WORTHLESS** **PIECE** **OF SHIT**, and I **COMPLETELY** agree with him. So, I'd appreciate it if everyone just left me **ALONE**--"

"So you can WHAT? Wallow in your self pity?!"

"YES! THANK YOU and GOOD NIGHT!"

Warrick roughly grabbed Nick by the arms before he could get into his truck, and pulled him back to face him again.

"Dammit Nick! Stop filling in the blanks before you know all the information. You should **know** not to do that by now! I should expect something like that from a rookie, NOT you!"

Nick may have been smaller, but he was quick enough to shove Warrick back in his struggle to get free, "What more do I need to **know** Warrick?! I heard everything that Greg had to say, so—"

"What do you mean? We haven't--wait, was Greg still in that room? You _talked_ to him?!" Warrick felt a small amount of relief rush through him. That was one mystery solved, but more questions arose to take its place.

"No, I _heard_ him. He was talkin' to Hodges…he, he just sounded like he had finally realized how stupid it was to actually like someone like me…"

Nick had now lost all of his fight and he was trying to hold back fresh tears as he proceeded to explain. "And I _agree_ with him Rick…I…I'm not good enough for him. He's just so amazing you know? I only come off as this macho guy, but the fear's still there…it's still lurkin' in the back of my mind. I get to thinkin' sometimes, you know what if some psycho like Walter Gordon turns up around the next corner? What would I do then? But Greg's so much stronger, and so much smarter than me…it's only right that he should choose to be with someone that _deserves_ to be with him…It's _my_ fault that I didn't see what I had before I let it slip away…I…I gotta go man. Tell Griss that I'm takin' the night off…he owes me anyway for callin' me in early." Nick hurried to get away from the Crime Lab because he didn't know how much more he could take before it got to be too much for him.

Warrick's phone suddenly started to go off, and as he noticed that it was Grissom calling him, he quickly signaled for Nick to wait. He answered the phone, and after carefully listening to what the Supervisor had to say, he hung up to turn towards Nick again, "Nick, don't freak out…apparently Greg fainted, but he's okay now and he's…"

Nick hadn't registered anything past the words "Greg" and "fainted" before he found himself racing back to the Lab, and he barely heard Warrick calling out to him to head to the morgue before he disappeared from view altogether. The dark skinned man shook his head in amused resignation before he followed at a more sedate pace.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Morgue**

Hodges was frustrated with Greg's childish behaviour. After Grissom had helped him carry Greg to the morgue, the Doc had been quick to whip out the smelling salts; and as soon as the blonde was conscious again Hodges had been bombarded with questions from Grissom. He had tried to explain everything as quickly and concisely as possible, while they had watched Doc Robbins proceed to examine the younger CSI more thoroughly, which brought them back to this moment—where Greg was acting worse than a four year old having a visit with a Pediatrician.

"Doc Robbins, I'm fine! I just need to eat something, that's all. I swear—"

"Don't even start Sanders! Doc, he hasn't eaten anything in over 20 hours and he was complaining that his stomach hurt before he fainted."

"Hodges! I DID NOT FAINT!"

"_Sure_, you just had a 'manly' fit of unconsciousness...you FAINTED Sanders! Get over it!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"Whatever! Can you blame me? I was tired and anyone would have done the same thing in my position!" Greg vainly tried to hide his embarrassment that Grissom had found out about his… "fainting spell"…yuk, that did NOT sound right! He was gonna **strangle** Hodges for this, the man might be a good friend but he was still a traitor for doing this to him!

"I suspect that you've been neglecting to eat properly for a few days at least and that must have aggravated your ulcer again," Doc Robbins observed as he snapped off his latex gloves.

"See! I just need to eat and sleep for a bit, that's all!"

"_Again?_ What do you mean Doc?" Hodges gave the younger man a look that made him squirm and slightly scoot away from the group, which was crowded around him as he sat on one of the tables in the morgue.

"He had a slight case of it a month ago, and I told him to take some antacids and to watch what he ate and how regularly he ate as well. Looks like you've been neglecting your diet Greg," Doc Robbins looked pointedly at the squirming CSI while he worked to maintain the look that said "_I'm the doctor, and you can't lie your way out of this one" _, but he was finding it hard not to grin as the boy looked like a cornered puppy right now.

"Sanders, you got anything to say to that?" David's seemingly casual tone was dripping with threats unspoken.

"Ok, so, maybe I _have_ been slacking a little, but it's only because I've been pulling a lot of doubles recently" the blonde now looked pointedly at Grissom, because this guilt trip thing can go both ways, "and I really thought I was ok again. I mean, I was feeling a _lot_ better than before!" He finished with a pout.

The doors to the morgue flew open as a breathless Nick rushed in yelling out, "Where is he? What happened? How's he doing?!"

The three of them parted so they could let Nick see for himself that, apart from acting like a four year old, Greg Sanders was perfectly fine.

Nick stilled as he took in the younger man in front of him. The blonde looked like he was dead tired, his hair tousled like he had just rolled out of bed, and his clothes were slightly askew which made him look all the more adorable. Nick heard, more than felt, his breath rush out of him with relief, but he made no move to walk up to the table where his crush sat with an equally surprised expression on his face.

"Greg?" it came out in a whisper, but they could clearly hear the question in the sudden pin drop silence of the room.

"Nicky?"

That's all it took for Nick to cover the distance between them; he caught Greg as he bounded off the table and pulled him into a fierce hug that silently told everyone that he wouldn't let go of the blonde even if his own life depended on it. The stunned trio snapped out of their daze as they heard Greg trying to ease the shaking Texan, by murmuring softly in his ears as the two rocked slightly in place. The trio quietly left the two younger men to sort things out, as they silently slipped out of the room without a backward glance.

_Got a monkey on my back  
M-M-Monkey on my back back back back  
Gonna change my ways tonight  
Nobody's fault but mine_

.Oo0oO.

* * *

A/N: Thank you guys soo much for taking the time to read and review, and also thank you to those who've added this to their favs and story alerts!! I had already written most of this fic before I started posting, that's why I could update so fast, but I do have exams/papers to submit so I haven't had a chance to reply, so THANK YOU SOO MUCH for all of your reviews and encouragement :) Keeps me feelin' good and pumped for the tests lol (2 more to go!!) Bleh, its been a looong month lol I've got the ending planned out but it's not finished yet, so take heart there's a few chapters yet to come, but only a few before the end :)

The next chappy will be good, I promise Lynn :D

Oh, and as LaughableBlackStorm pointed out, and I completely forgot to mention, the title of the previous chapter was totally stolen from Robinhood, Men in Tights :D I love that movie too LBS! I just couldn't resist 'cause I loved that title and it just made me giddy to be able to use it in this fic hehe ;-)


	10. My Apologies

**Chapter 10: My Apologies**

Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc…(dangit!) Lyrics are from "All Apologies" by Nirvana.

* * *

_What else should I be  
All apologies  
What else could I say  
Everyone is gay  
What else could I write  
I don't have the right  
What else should I be  
All Apologies_

**.Oo0oO.**

Nick hadn't felt this scared since that night he woke up to find himself buried alive in a transparent casket with no way out. The moment he heard the words "Greg" and "fainted" in the same sentence, he took off running before his mind could register the rest of Warrick's statement. He barely heard his friend yelling out to him to head to the morgue as he raced through the front doors and almost bumped into Judy in his hurry to get to the basement. His mind was reeling with the various worst case scenarios that could have taken place by now, and he was cursing his own stubbornness for choosing to walk away instead of stepping into that washroom earlier. _Oh God_, _please, **please** let him be alright! Why the hell did I not walk into that washroom?! I **knew** he hadn't eaten or slept in hours, what the hell was I thinking leaving him behind like that?! Shit!! If someone's up there listening to this, please just give me this one chance! I swear I'll do anything to make it up to him. I promise to not take him for granted again, and I'll beg if I have to, to get his forgiveness! Please, I haven't asked you for much in my life, just give me this one good thing and we'll call it even for all the shit I've been put through over this lifetime. _With each stride he took, Nick's prayers grew more desperate and his thoughts turned more dire, as he urged his feet to move faster and his lungs to push harder in his haste to get to the morgue.

Finally seeing the doors up ahead, with one last spurt of energy he burst into the room yelling out in his panic. He saw Grissom, Hodges, and Doc Robbins milling around a morgue table and fought back his sudden nausea at the scene before him. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until it whooshed out of his lungs as the three men parted to reveal a tired, but very much alive, Greg Sanders as he sat fidgeting on the table. Nick couldn't help but stare in astonishment as the question slipped out of him in a breathy whisper, "Greg?"

Greg Sanders had never been more surprised or more elated in his life. The look on Nick's face told him everything he wanted to know, that Nick still cared about him, that they were still friends, and that the older man wasn't mad at him anymore. Giddy from the happiness that flooded him, he replied a little dazedly, "Nicky?"

Hearing the blonde use the familiar endearment once again, Nick's barriers came crashing down as the past 20 hours caught up with him in that moment. He moved forward, suddenly finding himself with an armful of Greg, he pulled the younger man tight against his chest and rested his own head on the soft blonde curls, as he began to cry for all he was worth. His whole body shook with the emotional upheaval, as he finally let go of his anger, frustration, and jealousy to let relief flood him at the realization that his best friend was alive and well. Greg was alright, his prayers had been answered, and he had been given another chance to make up for everything he had done wrong.

Greg hugged the Texan tighter as he murmured reassuringly into his ear, "It's okay Nicky, I'm okay, everything is alright, there's nothing to be scared about…" He softly continued cooing in the other man's ears as he ran his hands soothingly along the brunette's back in a calming gesture until the shudders slowed, and eventually subsided.

With his eyes shut tight, Nick gave one last squeeze before murmuring into the blonde's ears, "I'm sorry Greggo, so sorry for everything that's happened."

There, he had _finally_ said it and, as cliché as it sounded, it felt as though a small weight had been lifted off his chest. He felt a strange and sudden calm wash over him as he prepared himself to take the next step. Nick carefully extricated himself from the bittersweet embrace, and gestured for Greg to sit back down on the morgue table behind him. Sensing that the Texan had a few things to get off his chest, the blonde reluctantly stepped back and kicked off his shoes to sit tailor style on the table. He looked on as Nick took a seat across from him, on the table opposite, letting his own feet dangle over the edge as he rested his hands on either side of his thighs. Greg hoped that whatever Nick had to tell him only had to do with saying sorry, and had nothing to do with the "I hope we can still be friends" speech that he was dreading. He didn't just want friendship from Nick anymore, knowing what he did about the other man's feelings for him, he wanted much more; he wanted a life with Nick and he wasn't going to agree to anything less after all the things _both_ men had gone through over the years to finally get to this point.

Nick took a deep breath before he began, "G, I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you earlier. I'm sorry that I let my jealousy and fear cloud my judgment when I knew _full well_ that you would never knowingly jeopardize a case. I was out of line when I yelled at you in the parking lot and I didn't mean a word of what I said…" Nick paused and raised his eyes from the floor to take in the blonde's reaction, but the younger man's face remained blank as he patiently waited for the rest of the explanation.

"I…I said those things because I let my frustration get the better of me and because…I…I was mad at Hodges for getting your attention and I took it out on you. I realize it was a really childish thing to do and really stupid for a CSI because I jumped to conclusions before I saw the whole picture. It's ironic that I was yelling at you for being incompetent when _I_ was the one acting that way," noticing that Greg was about to cut in, he quickly held up a hand to stop him. He didn't think he could get it all out if he was interrupted, so he gestured for the blonde to let him finish.

"You're one of the best CSI's I've ever worked with, Level I or not, and you're a great investigator because you really _are_ a sponge," at the impromptu use of the familiar line Nick broke into a fond smile, but the blonde remained expressionless as he continued to listen to the older CSI.

Nick quickly added, "And I mean that in a good way. You learn faster than anyone I know, and you pick up on things that sometimes even the rest of us miss. I should have known to trust your judgment with that kid, and if you weren't following procedure, I should have informed you in a more professional manner." He sighed and lowered his eyes once more.

"I was the more experienced CSI, and I should have found a better way to tell you how to proceed in that kind of situation. I'm really sorry for the way I acted and for taking your feelings for granted. I hope you know that I would never hold it against you if you're gay. The stuff I said in the parking lot, it wasn't me…and even if you were…going out with Ho-Hodges, that would be fine by me. I only hope that you can forgive me for what I've said and done to you," Nick finished and his eyes remained downcast, with his breath slightly hitching from the effort it took to get the last few words out.

"Are you done?"

Nick jerked his head up, not expecting to hear the sudden harsh tone that was in Greg's voice.

"Because I'd like to tell _you_ something Stokes."

**.Oo0oO.**

**Crime Lab: A/V Room**

"WHAT?! You thought I had gone to put the "beat down" on Sanders?! ME, beat up Greg?! Are you guys INSANE?!" Hodges looked incredulously at Warrick and the rest of the team, who had him cornered in the A/V room after he had returned with Grissom and Doc Robbins to catch everyone up on Greg's "re-appearance".

"Yeah, I know Hodges. I didn't believe it either…I mean the guy might be slim, but he can _definitely_ kick your ass when it comes down to it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Arch."

"No problem."

"I was _being_ sarcastic!"

"So was I."

"Ok, shut up you two! Let me get this straight. You and Greg were sitting in that basement room—"

"Handicap bathroom, it's important to get the details right."

"Hodges, we've all been worried **sick** over Greg's disappearance, so you better shut your hole before I do it _for_ you!" Catherine Willows was not amused, not one bit. "So, you guys were there this _whole_ time?"

Seeing that the woman meant business, Hodges quickly nodded; his sense of self preservation was after all very much intact.

"And you didn't find it necessary to let _us_ know that he was alright?" Sara's sweet voice may as well have been dripping with venom, for it sent chills up his spine as Hodges frantically tried to think of an explanation.

"Hey, how was _I_ supposed to know that you guys were freaking out over here? _Unlike_ you, I was busy doing something that was actually productive!"

"And what would _that_ be Hodges?"

"Setting the kid's head straight!"

"WHAT?!" The chorus of exclamations from within the room, minus that of Grissom and Doc Robbins, made him jump in surprise.

"NOT LIKE THAT! I didn't hurt him I swear! I've got witnesses!" He quickly turned towards the two older men watching the interrogation with an entirely unhealthy amount of amusement.

"It's true; apart from aggravating his ulcer again, Greg doesn't have a mark on him. I hope they make up and get home on time, because he needs food and lots of rest," Doc Robbins decided to take pity on the trace tech and finished his explanation with a pointed look towards Grissom.

"Hey, don't look at me! I've already talked to Ecklie. They're both going to be getting some time off to get their heads straight before coming back to work," Grissom smirked, realizing full well that the boys wouldn't be doing just that.

**.Oo0oO.**

**Crime Lab: Morgue**

Greg flung his legs out and bounded off the table to start pacing the floor. "You acted that way because you were _frustrated_, and because you were _mad_ at Hodges for getting my attention?! Man, what are we, in **4th** grade?! You got **mad** because someone was trying to steal your best friend away from you?! Give me a break Stokes! That's a lie and we **both** know it! Yeah, you were STUPID to jump to conclusions…and what's WORSE is you're **still** doing it! Did you even stop to think to ask about how **I** felt about all of this?!" His anger and frustration once again bubbling to the surface, Greg emphasized each point by flinging his arms in the air.

"I'm Nick FUCKIN' Stokes! I do what's best for everyone, even if THEY DON'T WANT IT! You _assume_ that Hodges and I are going out, and you've already started planning our wedding and printing out the invitations, before you even ask me if I liked him romantically! Did you stop to consider that **maybe** the only reason I was in that washroom with Hodges was because **he** cared enough to come after me, when my own **best friend** didn't give two shits about doing so?!"

Greg's face was now flushed with anger as he continued to yell while Nick paled at the implication of the words; he couldn't honestly contradict any of what Greg was saying so he sat there stoically, taking everything that the younger man had to throw at him.

"I don't BELIEVE you Nick! I don't believe any of what you said to me because, if you can lie through your teeth about how you feel about me, then who's to say this WHOLE thing isn't an act?!"

Nick looked up sharply, "G, you gotta believe me! You **have** to!" He jumped off the table and grabbed Greg's hands in his own to look into the familiar brown eyes, which were now blazing with indignation.

"I _swear_ I'm truly sorry for everything I've done and I'll do _anything_ to make you understand that I'm not lying!" Nick was silently begging Greg to see that he really did care about him.

"_Are_ you being honest? Tell me the truth Nick…how do you _really_ feel about me? And I don't mean that in a platonic best friend way either!"

Nick stood shell shocked at hearing the words, which were alarmingly similar to the ones that had passed a certain trace tech's lips mere hours earlier.

**.Oo0oO.**

**Crime Lab: A/V Room**

"Well, it's been nice chatting with you kids but I really have to run. Griss, I'm gonna be taking sick leave as well, a couple of days at the most just to get my biological clock running again and to make sure…OH MY GOD, KOBE!" the Lab Rat's face turned deathly pale and he swayed on the spot.

Fearing that Hodges was having some sort of an attack, the crowd parted to let Doc Robbins attend to the technician. They nervously looked on as the Doc quietly spoke with the tech, seemingly assuring him about something.

"It's okay David, cats are smart, they'll find ways to get to their food and take care of themselves that you could never think possible…"

"But Doc, I was going to buy him something…I had nothing left at home and now he's probably…"

"Do you live in an apartment?"

"Yeah, but…"

"I'm sure he would have cried enough to alert the neighbors if he really was starving…"

"And Mrs. Norris across from me has my spare keys! I get her to check in on the apartment once in awhile…okay, so he's alright. He MUST be alright…thanks Doc!" Hodges felt relief flood him as he got up to leave the Lab, yet again. He needed to get home, to make sure that Kobe was really okay, and to curl up on his bed and sleep dreamlessly for a day—if not for a week, after everything he had gone through in the past 20 hours.

**.Oo0oO.**

**Crime Lab: Morgue**

Nick let go of Greg's hands as his demeanor grew icy, "What did he tell you?"

"What did _who_ tell me?"

"You know _exactly_ who I'm talking about Greg, so spit it out!"

"Hey! You don't **get** to be mad about this. David didn't tell me anything that wasn't true and _I_ asked _you_ a question first, and I'm still waiting for the answer!"

"I don't know what _David_ told you Greg, but I'm sure that it wasn't the truth!"

Greg's heart constricted at hearing this, but before he could turn around and run Nick caught him to pull him back and face him again.

"G, listen to me! I…I told him that I liked you, but what I didn't tell him was that I don't just like you Greggo, I _love_ you. I don't know what _he_ told you…but I truly care about you; and **yes** I was pissed at Hodges, because **he** seemed to have caught your interest, when **I've** been trying all this time and failing miserably at it! **I** was the one who cared for you, **I** was the one who made sure you were ok after a hard case, and **I** was the one who listened to you! I know I've been acting like a jerk and I completely deserve whatever you have to throw at me, but who's _**he**_ to come before _**me**_ Greg?! Answer me that!" Nick's anguished rambling came to a halt, as he let go of the blonde and waited for an answer.

"You _love_ me?" Greg's quiet voice held complete awe and his brain wholly forgot about his prior anger as it latched onto Nick's surprising declaration.

"YES, I LOVE YOU! What did I _**just**_ tell you?!"

"I love you too."

"GOOD 'cause whatever he said was—wait! YOU WHAT?!" Nick's mouth started to resemble a gold fish, as he vainly tried to form words that died before they could even get past his vocal chords; he finally gave up trying to stare dumbly at the blonde.

"I _said_, _I love you too_ Nicholas Stokes. What? You deaf or somethin'?"

The blonde smiled impishly up at Nick, waiting for his brain to catch up with his mouth.

Nick started sputtering randomly, "You mean...?"

"It's _always_ been you Nick."

"Hodges..."

"A good friend."

"And I was…"

"A dumbass."

"So, we could've been…"

"Yeah."

Nick's body flooded with such elation that he had never known possible. _Greg LOVES me!_ He grinned, pulling the younger man roughly by the waist until they were standing toe to toe, chest to chest, breathing heavily from their rapidly spiking heart rates. Nick's eyes narrowed at the unexpected realization that they could have saved each other much heart ache, if they had only talked about this sooner. "You felt the same way about me and you didn't think to tell me this before?!" Nick ground out, his eyes predatory as they gazed into the now dilating brown pools in front of him.

"Me?! What about you?! You were the ladies man! Maybe if you had noticed my flirting, this could have gone somewhere _ages_ ago!" Greg pulled back, indignant at the accusation. "I had _everything_ to lose if I had o-opened my m-mouth." The blonde slightly stuttered as he backed up, noticing that Nick's gaze was now blatantly traveling down his body.

"G, you flirt with _everyone_, how am I supposed to tell that apart from you _genuinely_ liking me?" The older man moved forward, as Greg unconsciously took a step backwards, not realizing that the brunette was effectively stalking him, as a lion would a nervous lamb.

Greg's body flushed with embarrassment at hearing the words, because they were partly true, and he vainly tried to plead with the older man, "L-Look, no harm, no foul right?"

"I don't know about that G," Nick's smile was positively sinister as he finally got the blonde where he wanted. Greg's cheeks were flushed pink, lips slightly parted in panic, as he realized the situation he was in; Nick had him caged between a table and two strong arms, now resting on either side of him. As he looked up to plead innocence one more time, he saw that Nick was dangerously close, his breath ghosting over the blonde's lips, almost as if they were asking for permission, and Greg couldn't deny this man anything.

"Nicky," the breathy whisper was all the permission Nick needed before he brought his lips crashing down against the soft pink ones that were now parted in desire. Greg moaned into the kiss, his eye lids fluttering shut, as he flung his arms around the older man's neck to pull him closer. Soft lips massaged his own, making him shiver and inadvertently gasp as a teeth nipped at his bottom lip. A quick tongue darted out to lick the hurt before it shamelessly sneaked its way into his open mouth, pulling a surprised moan from his throat.

Nick groaned as his tongue invaded the warm opening and his groin grew hard when he felt the blonde writhe in his arms. He lightly rubbed up against the younger man, gaining some friction to relieve himself, as he readily poured his love, his desire, and his ardor for the other man into that single kiss. He suddenly grew bolder as he sneaked his hands underneath the blonde's shirt to feel deliciously soft skin heating up every place he touched.

Greg grew dizzy from the stimulation to his body, which seemed to be engulfing him from all sides, as he gave as good as he got. Pressing the evidence of his own desire against the older man, he slightly rocked in place, parting his lips further to allow Nick's tongue better access to his own warm cavern. He sucked sensuously and brushed teasingly against the roof of his lover's mouth, which elicited a needy groan from his partner. Tongues desperately dueled for dominance as they licked and sucked without mercy and Nick's desperation grew even more as he ran his hands hungrily down the blonde's body to grab his ass and roughly drew him up against his own hips.

It wasn't enough; it felt like it'll _never_ be enough, as Nick tore his lips away to lick and nip his way down the pale throat exposed wantonly before him. Without missing a beat, the blonde leaned back, revealing his most sensitive expanse of skin, and wrapped his long legs around the older man to pull him as close as he could to his own body. Nick increased the pace of their rocking, desperate to find release, as his mouth found the blonde's kiss-swollen lips again. He leaned forward to rest his hands firmly on the table that Greg was bracing against, to allow for better leverage.

A loud crash suddenly burst through their lust addled minds as they heard, "OH MY GOD! I'm sorry…I had a…I mean I was just…Oh God!"

David Phillips spluttered in embarrassment as he tried to pick himself up off the floor, from where he had slipped and fallen in surprise when he had walked into the morgue to discover two live men going at it in his place of work--which usually housed the dead. He was even more mortified when he realized he knew the couple and even worked with them closely on occasion; he just hadn't known that they were seeing each other...or even that they were anything but ramrod straight!

"Gosh, we're so sorry Dave! We didn't realize…" Nick flushed crimson in embarrassment as he discreetly tried to shield his erection as well as his lover from view, as Greg put himself back together.

"NO, NO! Take your time, I…I'm just gonna go check on something…yes, I need to find the Doc to ask him about sex…I mean the sexual assault victim!" David stuttered out an explanation, trying desperately to make a quick escape with his eyes firmly set on the tiles below him.

"David, you won't tell anyone will you?" Greg had managed to right his shirt, along with certain other body parts, and was now looking innocently back at the Assistant Coroner.

David Phillips quickly looked up, "No, of course not! I wouldn't dream of it, I swear!" Realizing the embarassing situation he had put himself in, he quickly added, "Um…well, it was nice seeing you guys again; I have to go now…" before he all but ran out of the room.

There was complete and utter silence for a moment before both men broke into sudden and raucous laughter, which they couldn't contain any longer; they held their sides as tears of mirth ran down their cheeks from tightly shut eye lids, until their amusement eventually subsided and they were left gasping for air.

"Damn! I…don't think I've ever…done it in a morgue…have you?"

"Well…there was this _one_ time…where this super hot brunette backed me up against the table and…"

Regaining his breath quickly he warned, "G, don't even go there! I don't think this is the right time or place to be doing this…"

"Oh, come on! You saying you didn't like it?" Greg grinned impishly back at Nick, knowing full well the other man had _more_ than enjoyed what they had done together and didn't regret what they had _almost_ done either.

Nick leaned in to kiss the blonde softly, resting his hands on his lover's waist, he smilingly gazed into the brown pools once again, "You _know_ I loved it babe, but it's a good thing that Super Dave found us; we have to get you home so you can eat and rest before you can participate in any _vigorous_ activity."

Greg's heart melted as he felt strong arms envelop him in a protective hug and he willingly leaned into the touch; letting his head rest against the older man's chest, he spoke softly, "Babe, huh?"

Nick smiled as he brushed up against the blonde curls once again, "Just trying out a new nickname, you like?"

"I _love_. So, babe, do you think we can head to your place 'cause your bed is bigger and I don't have a ride?"

Nick couldn't help but snicker as he ran his hand soothingly down his partner's back, "And you would know this about my bed, how?"

Greg blushed lightly, as he borrowed his head further against Nick's chest, "I may have gotten lost while trying to get to your washroom the last time I was there."

"Hun-huh, I bet you did."

"Hey, you've been my boyfriend for ten minutes and this is how you treat me? Like some lowly suspect?!" Greg's voice barely held back his amusement as he tried to imitate righteous indignation, all the while keeping his face buried against Nick's shirt.

He suddenly pulled back with a yelp, as he started giggling while he desperately tried to get away from the assault of Nick's merciless fingers tickling his sides, "So I'm your _boyfriend_ huh?"

This brought Greg up short as he suddenly looked nervous, "Well yeah, I mean that's what we are right? Because if you aren't in for the same—"

Nick's expression became serious once again as he hastened to assure the younger man, "Of course G! I'm not looking to have a fling with you, I want _more_ than that! I love you, you know that right?" he gazed into his lover's eyes once again, hoping that Greg would understand that he wanted a partner for life, not someone to have a casual encounter with.

Sensing the things that Nick _didn't_ say, Greg smiled softly as he placed a small kiss on the older man's nose, "Ya, I do Nicky. I love you too and I can't believe that it took David Hodges to make you see the light!"

Greg laughed as his lover tried to swat his ass in mock-indignation before they both headed out of the morgue, hand in hand.

**.Oo0oO.**

**David's Apartment Complex**

David Hodges tiredly drove into his parking lot, sighing heavily as he pulled out the essentials that he had bought from the nearby Wal-Mart, before closing and locking his car door. He had called ahead to Mrs. Norris as he was leaving the Lab earlier and had found out that Kobe had indeed started crying near his breakfast time until he had gotten her attention. She had consequently taken him into her own apartment, thinking that David had probably forgotten to remind her about feeding the cat because he had to stay longer at work. This had happened once before, when he had pulled a quadruple and half way through his shift he had remembered to call Mrs. Norris to check on Kobe. _Well, at least the cat's living the high life--even if I'm not_, he thought dejectedly as he shuffled his feet on his way towards the entrance of the apartment building.

Little did he know, a predatory pair of eyes was watching his every move, cursing and waiting for their chance at vengeance, as he made his way towards his unit.

* * *

A/N: Awww, you guys _reallly_ didn't think this was gonna end well, did you? Hehe…all I'm sayin' is that there's still a case that needs solvin' by our two favourite CSIs! No, I'm not evil...not evil at all...ok, maybe a little. Thank you muchly for reading, you guys are the bestest! :-)

--

AA/N: Remember, this has no character death, just a lotta angst, so please don't flame me. I burn easily! ;-)


	11. Sin City: Rewind

**Chapter 11: Sin City -- Rewind**

Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc…I just love borrowing the boys and letting my imagination run wild with them :-) Lyrics are from "Sin City" by AC/DC and I strongly recommend listening to the lyrics/song beforehand, 'cause it just gives you that sinister mood you'll need to get into this chapter!

* * *

_Diamonds and dust  
Poor man last, rich man first  
Lamborghinis, caviar  
Dry martinis, Shangri-la  
I got a burnin' feelin'  
Deep inside of me  
It's a-yearnin'  
But, I'm gonna set it free_

.Oo0oO.

**David's Apartment Complex**

Mikey Hughes observed the apartment unit, directly in his line of sight, like a hawk would eye its prey. It was with an intensity, which would perturb even the Devil, that he watched and he waited for his time to come. _Nobody_ was going to take away his brother from him and get away with it, least of all a _fag_ CSI! They _dared_ keep his brother in lock up, when they had **nothing** to hold him on! He'll make them suffer, make them **all** pay for what they had done to his brother…

_.Oo0oO Flashback Oo0oO. _

Nick walked into the interrogation room in a panic, furious with himself that he had let his mouth run before his brain could catch up with him. _How am I going to get Greg back after what I did out there?! He's __**never**__ gonna forgive me for this! Shit, shit, shit!! Greg, I didn't mean any of it, how the hell am I gonna make you see that?! GODAMMIT! I should have apologized to him; I should have gone after him right away, what the hell am I still doing here?!_

Brass looked up as he saw the CSI enter the room with a slight frown on his face, which was quickly masked by the Texan as he noticed the detective looking at him quizzically, "Hey Brass, sorry I'm late."

"No worries, Mr. Hughes and I were just getting to know each other, weren't we Ollie?" Brass sarcastically remarked to the scumbag sitting across from him before continuing, "So, where's Sanders?"

"Uh, he said that he wasn't feeling well and he wanted me to take over for him. Hi Mr. Hughes, I'm Nick Stokes and I—"

The greasy looking blonde looked nervous as he quickly interjected, "L-Look, I haven't done anything wrong. W-Why am I even here?! Who are you anyway?"

Nick hid his irritation as he calmly explained, "I'm a CSI and I work for the Crime Lab in conjunction with the police officers here. We brought you in because we wanted to ask you some questions about our recent investigation. There's been a string of burglaries going on near Henderson and the surrounding neighborhoods, it's been on the news recently too. You know which ones I'm talking about Mr. Hughes?"

Roland started getting agitated at the perceived insinuation behind the words as his speech impediment became pronounced, "L-Look, I have no idea what you g-g-guys are talkin' about alright? W-Whatever you guys think I did, I didn't do it, Ok?!"

"Whoa Mr. Hughes, no need to get defensive now, I was just askin' a question. We're just trying to follow up on a lead, so I'm going to show you a picture of a house, and you tell me if you've seen it before, ok?" Nick proceeded to keep an outward façade of calm, as he pulled out several shots of Mr. Brightside's home. The first showed the front yard; bright pink chrysanthemums decorated the border along the walk way leading to the front door with a big number 29 nailed to it in a cursive font. The second was an interior shot of the house, specifically of the clean living room wall decorated with the children's plaques, commending their merit in sports and academia. The _only_ living room wall which hadn't been covered in blood. Before Nick could move on to the other pictures the blonde yelled out, "Listen, I have no idea where this place is! I've n-n-never even _seen_ this house in my life!"

Nick held his voice in check, as he ground out, "You have _no_ idea? So, you're telling me you've _never_ been in there before? _Never_ seen the house, let alone stepped foot in it? Is that what you're saying Roland? Don't lie to me man, you and I _both_ know that's not the truth!"

The blonde started yelling, his agitation clearly showing now as he pushed his chair back to physically distance himself from the perceived threat of the CSI, "S-S-Stop yelling at me! I have n-no idea what y-you guys are talking about! I've n-n-never been in th-there I swear!"

Nick wasn't having any of it; all of his experience, as a CSI and as a former cop, told him that the suspect was lying through his teeth and it pissed him off even more that he had to be here, wasting his time on a scumbag, when he could have been going after Greg. "Brass, hold him in lock up!"

"What?" Brass looked at Nick like the CSI had grown another head. The Captain didn't see why they had to stop mid-interrogation when it was clear that the suspect was going to spill everything soon. The perp just needed one little push and this case was in the bag.

"You can't do that!" Roland yelled out, before looking around for someone to help him.

"We can hold him for 72 hours without charging him right?" Nick was panicking inwardly, he had to get out of here, he had to find Greg, and he had no time to waste.

"Yeah, but…"

"So, HOLD HIM." Nick pulled Brass into a corner to speak in a whisper, as the blonde nervously looked on. "Look, let him sweat it out for awhile. I have to confirm something with Sanders…"

"But I thought we had evidence, _**blood**_ evidence linking him to the scene. He just stated he's never been in the house before. All we have to do is get a signed—"

"Look Brass, I know how to do my job alright?! We can get the confession from him, but it might be thrown out of court because this guy's agitated as hell and they'll make it look like we coerced him into it. Besides, we know that this wasn't just a one man job, there had to have been someone else involved. Let him sweat it out…"

"And what Stokes? We'll still end up…"

"Listen, I just need to confirm something with Sanders, and we'll have something strong to go on okay? He waived his rights, right?"

"Ya, but it looks like he might go back on it now. If he lawyers up, we'll—"

"Brass, just trust me ok? I gotta go!"

"This better be worth it Stokes!"

"I'll call you later!" Nick threw back over his shoulder as he glanced at Brass one last time.

In his haste to get away from the Lab, the CSI didn't see Mikey Hughes standing right outside the interrogation room looking in through the glass doors. Nick forcefully crashed into the other man as he turned to walk out of the room.

"Shit! Who are you man? What the hell are you doing here?"

The brunette looked at him with a cold stare, "Mikey Hughes, you have my brother in there, and I want to know _why_ he's in there. Are you gonna charge him?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss—"

"That's a load of bull! I want to know NOW!"

"Well Mr. Hughes, we can't _all_ get what we want now, can we?" Nick sarcastically threw back as he proceeded to walk towards the entrance.

"I don't care about what others want; I saw you guys, you didn't have any—"

Nick quickly turned around to face the other man, "Look, you weren't even supposed to be outside that door. If you want to help your brother, why don't you go ask him to tell us the truth? Oh and if you're wondering where to find him, he'll be the one in _lock up_. Hey Morison! Get over here! If you know what's good for you Mr. Hughes, you'll walk out of here before that officer **throws** you out," Nick barely held his frustration in before he turned around to head for the front doors once again.

Shrugging off the officer who had him by the elbow, Mikey Hughes yelled out, "Get off me! I can see my own damn way out! Friggin' uniforms, you're all the same!"

Hughes quickly headed towards the parking lot, hoping to find a lawyer to pull his brother out of lock up because a public defender _sure as hell_ wouldn't give a damn! He didn't trust the system one bit; the uniforms had _no_ right doing this to them! He walked single mindedly towards the front door, but slowed down as he saw another man trying to head off the CSI just outside the Lab entrance; quickly following the slightly built man, he saw him yell out to the Texan before the CSI had a chance to get into his truck. Hughes held back, trying to remain inconspicuous, as he watched the heated exchange between the two men from a corner of the parking lot and consequently saw the other man run after the CSI's truck as it sped out of the lot. _Fuckin' pansy! I should have __**known**__ he was gay! If that wasn't a lover's quarrel, I'm a friggin' Saint! Well Mr. CSI, let's see how __**you**__ like it when I take away something that's yours. I'm gonna make __**sure**__ you pay for your sins Mr. Stokes and when I'm done you'll be begging for your absolution._

_.Oo0oO End Flashback Oo0oO._

And so he sat, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike, oblivious to the fact that soon his actions would set off a series of events which would forever be irrevocable.

* * *

**Nick's House**

Greg woke up to the tantalizing smell of his favourite coffee, freshly brewing alongside the makings of a delicious breakfast, as the scent wafted in from the kitchen. He stretched lazily; not wanting to get up just yet, he curled himself into a ball again, grabbing the extra pillow beside him to cuddle up against. The embrace of the self-made cocoon of comforter and sheets, which he was now loosely wrapped in, felt absolutely heavenly. Since he had been a kid, he had maintained the ability to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and to sleep like the dead until his biological clock told him to wake up. Over the years this gift had come in very handy when he had been called into work early (more times than he could count) because he was able to retain the required amount of rest, while still being able to get up and go whenever he was needed. Today was different though, today was his _guaranteed_ day off, and so he luxuriously lounged in bed, a reflexive smile playing on his lips in an early morning half-asleep-yet-half-awake state of consciousness.

After they had arrived at Nick's place around 1 am, at a time when they usually **started** their official shifts, they had both been too tired to do anything but eat some instant noodles, take quick and separate showers before changing into their respective t-shirt and boxers and falling into bed. Sleep had claimed them even before they could decide on who took which side of the mattress. Glancing at the clock now, he found that nine hours had already flown by and, to his _biological clock_, that seemed like forever. He sighed with satisfaction; he _still_ couldn't believe that he was here, sprawled out on _this_ particular bed, when same time yesterday he would have laughed at anyone who dared suggest that this reality was even possible.

Suddenly, he felt the bed dip slightly under a new weight before it righted itself again. The comforter and sheets he was burrowed under were unwrapped by careful hands until they found the warm figure lazily tucked underneath. Nimble fingers glided under his t-shirt and, finding the sweet spot between his hip joint and waist, they firmly squeezed in a bid to get his attention. He fought to keep his eyes closed as he faintly shuddered at the touch. A minute smile now playing on his lips, he merely waited as the fingers moved on to gently spread across his torso, pulling his pliant body against an eager and awaiting form now lying behind him. The cool breath coasting against the warm skin of his neck sent shivers down his spine as he leaned into the embrace, sensuously stretching to give the exploring lips access to the pale skin of his throat.

_This_ was heaven; to wake up like this, just like this, everyday for the rest of his life, would be heaven.

The eager lips momentarily paused in their ministrations, "Good mornin' baby."

"Mmm"

They proceeded to nuzzle against his neck, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Mmmm"

A slight nip to his ear lobe was followed by, "Are we goin' with single syllable words today?"

"Hmm-hmm"

"Oh, so two then?"

Greg reluctantly gave up on trying to stay in his drowsy state of consciousness to turn around and face his suddenly talkative boyfriend, "Nicky, please don't tease!" He pleadingly rasped out before seeking the warmth of the Texan's t-shirt clad chest and burrowing into its natural heat. The older man cuddled the blonde against his chest as he silently shook with laughter.

"I can feel that!"

"Sorry babe, so how did you sleep?" He didn't sound sorry at all, more amused if anything, as he ran his fingers gently through his lover's hair.

"I always sleep like the dead, so I guess I slept pretty well." The blonde tilted his head back to reveal a crooked smile as he looked at his partner through half open lashes, "I take it you made breakfast?" Delicately sniffing he declared, "Mmm smells delicious, so where is it?"

"Smooth Greggo, _very_ smooth," Nick couldn't help but snigger at his suddenly hungry and eager boyfriend.

"Hey, a guy has got to eat _sometime_ and I thought you were supposed to be takin' care of me!" he playfully kissed his lover's chin to show that he was only teasing, before gently extricating himself out of the embrace. "Sorry babe, but I gotta pee…very badly!"

Nick snickered as he watched the blonde roll out of bed quickly to do a weird combination of a hop and run, as he tried not to pee his pants, on his way to the bathroom. The door barely shut before a loud sigh emanated from within, which made the Texan double over with laughter. He finally heaved a sigh of his own as he caught his breath, and lay back on the bed to close his eyes and take in this moment. _Holy shit, this is __**actually**__ happening! The guy I've loved, for longer than I could remember, actually feels the same way about me and he __**wants**__ to be my boyfriend. Damn…to think I could have had this __**ages**__ ago! Greg Sanders wants to be my boyfriend. No, Greg Sanders __**is**__ my boyfriend. Ha! Take __**that**__ Hodges! _

"That smile better be for me Mister!"

Shaken out of his thoughts Nick opened his eyes to see Greg trying valiantly, but failing miserably, to look serious while he gazed down at the older man, "What smile?"

"That smile you were smiling just now, it seemed like you were thinking about something extra special. I just hope that it was about me and not someone else," Greg waggled his eyebrows playfully, but now that morning had come, so had some of his old insecurities.

Sensing that Greg meant more than what he was saying out aloud, Nick sat up to lean against the headboard and pulled the blonde across his lap to face him, "G, if you really want to know what I was thinking about…it's that I was an idiot for not telling you about my feelings earlier, and how lucky I am now to _finally_ have you as my boyfriend." Seeing Greg suddenly break out into a goofy grin, he returned it with one of his own, placing a quick peck on the blonde's lips before he continued, "But, if you're asking me if what we're doing is a long term, _exclusive_, deal…I'd have to say absolutely, 100 percent, yes! I thought we covered this already?"

Greg's face fell as his doubts resurfaced once more, "I know! I know that you told me that you were in this for a relationship and not just for sex, but everything just seems so sudden you know? And yesterday doesn't really count because we were _both_ too tired to think straight, and the adrenaline we were working off wasn't helping either, I mean, it could have just been an "Oh my God he's alive and he doesn't hate me!" kind of thing, or what if you were just doing it so that…"

Greg's nervous rambling, brought on by the sudden "morning-after" doubts he was hit with, stopped as Nick's mouth covered his lips in a stomach fluttering, toe curling, _does-this-__**feel**__-like-I'm-not-interested-in-you?_ kiss, which left them both gasping for air after they parted.

"Does that answer all your questions?"

"Partly…"

"Are you _planning_ to be this difficult for the rest of the day?!"

"What if I'm _going_ to be this difficult for the rest of _my life_?!"

"In that case, I wouldn't have it any other way. But, I _would_ have to be admitted to a mental instit—"

"Nicky!" Greg grabbed the pillow beside him to playfully whack his boyfriend across the head before the Texan grabbed hold of him and tackled him to the mattress with his superior body weight.

Nick held the blonde down, his hands pinning both of Greg's above his head, as he warned, "G, you should know that I played football in college!"

Greg returned Nick's smile, teasingly lifting his hips to grind against his lover's crotch, his throaty voice dared, "So? What are you gonna _do_ about it cowboy?"

Nick flushed as he caught Greg's naughty grin. This was not good; he had the whole day planned out, starting with breakfast in bed and leading up to……Oh the hell with it! The food was probably cold by now anyway.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Interrogation Room**

Jim Brass has been in the business of finding and putting away scumbags his entire life; he has worked against them for so long that he even has "figuring them out" down to an art. He knew how their minds worked, how their dealings operated, even how they had their damn breakfast in the mornings. The CSIs may look to science for answers, believing that the evidence never lied, but he also knew that they were often stumped when it came to the human element. They placed their faith wholly on the evidence, but sometimes they forgot that even the evidence had no context without its human counterpart. Brass, on the other hand, was very much aware of this particular flaw. He knew that the human component always, _always_, had an unpredictability to it that science did not. He also knew the one rule that all humans followed that science could not; this rule, or the unspoken law if you will, was that "_You __**always**__ look out for number one._"

Brass knew that all he had to do is wait this creep out and he'll cave like a cookie crumbles; so he waited, and he watched, as the low life before him did exactly that.

"Look man! I didn't do it, okay? It wasn't me, I swear! You gotta believe me! It was my brother, it was all his idea and I couldn't do anything to stop him!"

"Ollie, Ollie, Ollie…come on, you gonna try and make me believe that you had _nothing_ to do with this? What do you think I am?"

"Roland! My name's R-Roland ok?! S-S-Stop callin' me Ollie! I'm tellin' you, I d-d-didn't do it!"

"W-W-Well Ollie, I really don't give **two shits** about what you want to be called! What I _do_ care about is the truth!" Brass suddenly lowered his voice to a deceptively casual tone. "Now, tell me, how _exactly_ did you and your brother manage to carry out these burglaries?"

"O-O-Ok, I'll do it, but I want immunity! Y-You gotta promise me that you w-won't tell my brother that I t-told on him and you w-won't charge me for it neither."

"I ain't promisin' you shit. You give me everything you have and I'll tell you where we're at after that."

"B-But, he'll kill me! If I tell you and he f-finds out, he'll KILL ME!"

"Ok, how about this? If he finds out, he won't have heard it from us. Is that good enough for ya?"

"Y-You promise?"

"I'll give you my word. God knows its worth more than your life right about now."

"Y-You'll catch him right?"

Brass merely stared back at Roland Hughes—an unstable, passive aggressive, good-for-nothing scum, who existed _only_ to give his older brother meaning in life; and he wasn't even going to have _that_ anymore because he was about to give up the only man, no the only _person_, who would ever care about him, in exchange for his own freedom. So, the detective waited, and he watched, as the canary prepared to sing.

* * *

**David's Apartment**

David Hodges woke up to a bright and sunny morning, feeling refreshed and ready to start the new day. Birds were chirping outside his window, butterflies were fluttering around his bedroom, and his pet cat Kobe was happily chasing after them in—wait a minute! BUTTERFLIES? Where the _hell_ did those things come from?! He quickly got up to see that his window had been left open during the night…weird. How did the birds not get in? Oh well, thank God for small mercies. The last thing he needed was bird poop to add to the kitty litter, which he already despised cleaning out! He loved his cat, but he hated cleaning out his poop; even if it didn't smell that bad, it was the idea of poop that set him off. He had to deal with gross things at work so he figured that his personal life should be free of any _avoidable_ grossness.

Dressed in his Dukes of Hazzard PJs, which his favourite niece designed and stitched for him (during her "I'm going to be a fashion designer" phase), he trudged towards the washroom after closing and locking his window. _Gotta have that window checked, keeps getting stuck, I know I slid it shut yesterday…_

* * *

**Nick's House**

Nick hadn't made out like a teenager since he was, well, a teenager, but being with Greg was helping him rediscover a fun side to himself that he didn't even know he possessed. He felt somehow whole again and the blonde's playful nature was definitely rubbing off on him as well. It was making him do things that he would have once considered frivolous; like skipping breakfast just because you can, or not bothering to set the alarm before going to sleep on a Sunday morning, or making out with your boyfriend until you were both too exhausted to do anything but lie there—like they were doing right now.

Nick held the younger man close to him, spooning him from behind, as the blonde snuggled as close as he could get to the Texan while still being clothed in their PJs. He silently watched as his boyfriend dozed lightly, exhausted still from the previous night's emotional roller coaster and this morning's make out session. His gut suddenly clenched with guilt when he thought about what he had said and done to hurt the younger man, and he wished he could do something to _really_ show Greg how much he meant to him. He instinctively held the blonde tighter, and felt his own heart flutter as he buried his head in his lover's wavy hair to inhale his sweet scent. He sighed deeply as he thought about how it felt to finally be holding Greg like this, in this room, where he never in a million years imagined that he would have the blonde cuddle in his arms, let alone do some of the things that they had done earlier together. This moment felt perfect, like everything they had _both_ gone through over the years had finally lead them to this and he thanked whoever was listening for giving him this gift.

Greg suddenly moaned in his sleep, unconsciously pushing back against the Texan, in his efforts to free himself from the arms that were holding him in a snug embrace. Nick felt Greg's breathing become harsher as he struggled in his sleep and just as the Texan let go of the younger man to wake him up, Greg awoke and stilled just as suddenly.

"Nicky?"

"Yeah baby, I'm right here behind you."

Greg turned towards the murmured assurance, feeling a sense of déjà vu as he did so, only this time he felt a fear that was equal to the happiness he had felt mere hours ago. He rested his head against the Texan's chest as he caught his breath while the older man worriedly tried to soothe him by slowly running his hand up and down the blonde's back, in a calming gesture.

"Nightmare?"

"Something like that……Nick?"

"Ya babe?"

"Can we go to IHop?"

"What?!"

"IHop, you know the place that serves the most delicious—"

"I know what an IHop is G, I meant why do you wanna go there now?" Nick was completely thrown off by the blonde's seemingly sudden change in mood.

Greg lifted his head to look at his confused boyfriend and smiled, "I just feel like going…so, wanna go?"

"You sure you're feelin' ok?" Nick wasn't completely convinced, but he was willing to let Greg take the lead on this one because he was still new at this whole relationship thing and he didn't want to push any buttons that didn't need pushing. He just wanted Greg to feel better and to express what he wanted to on his own terms.

"Yeah, definitely, it wasn't anything you need to worry about," Greg's smile widened as he took in his boyfriend's hesitant expression, if only to convince the Texan that he really was ok, even though the nasty feeling still remained in the pit of his stomach. "And can we swing by Hodges' place? I think we owe him a thank you brunch at least, for getting us together, what do you think?"

Nick tried not to let jealousy rear its ugly head as he answered, "Sure babe, whatever you want."

* * *

A/N: Yes, this is the part where you all shake me and go : Dang you WOMAN! Get to the POINT already!! Buuut, I have to warn you, there are 2 more parts to this "chap" before the end, the second part being: Sin City -- Corruption. So, please bear with me? or is it bare? ummm, I'm pretty sure it's bear...huh...anyway, you know what I mean! Review, review, review!! I wanna know what you guys thought of this particular chap 'cause I'm happy to take your feedback and re-work the ending if I see fit, so I can get this right ;-) Thank you all for reading!!


	12. Sin City: Seduction

**Chapter 12: Sin City - Seduction**

Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS, Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer, etc… I don't own any part of it. I just love manipulating the characters to fit my _needs_ *laughs maniacally* Lyrics are from "Sin City" by AC/DC and I strongly recommend listening to the song beforehand, 'cause it just gives you that sinister vibe you'll need to get into this chapter!

* * *

_Ladders and snakes_

_Ladders give, snakes take_

_Rich man, poor man, beggarman, thief_

_Ain't got a hope in hell, that's my belief_

.Oo0oO.

**Crime Lab: Interrogation Room 4:00pm**

"It s-started out with small things, nothing major," Roland Hughes glanced up to make sure his words were being heard before his eyes quickly darted to the table in front of him.

Brass remained silent as he mentally took in every twitch and stutter of the perp sitting before him.

"Mikey would a-ask me to take his messages for him...whenever he was out doing w-whatever he was doing. I never knew what, and I didn't care to a-ask," Roland stressed the last sentence with a vigorous shake of his head, his eyes flitting nervously across the table as if looking for a way to escape the questioning.

"But you were his brother, his only family left in this world, how could you _not_ help him?" Warrick appeared to sympathize with Roland.

"Exactly! That's what I'm s-sayin'. I mean, blood is thicker than water and all that." Roland's behaviour suddenly became animated as he found a supporter. "He's always taken care of me and he is a g-good brother. But, I s-still told him that it's a bad idea to be doing illegal things. He j-just w-would never listen to me!"

Roland's pained voice rose with his anxiety, when Warrick raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"It's okay, I understand Roland. So, when did it get to be too much for you? I mean, you said it started out small...these messages...were they phone messages? Could you tell us who he was in contact with at the time and what these messages were about?"

Roland thought about how much he could divulge without getting himself into too much trouble.

The deafening sound of flesh meeting wood reverberated across the room, as Captain Brass slammed a frustrated hand against the well worn desk, "ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

Roland clutched his ears in fright before he started detailing his and his brother's whereabouts over the past month.

* * *

**David's Apartment Complex 4:30pm**

Mikey Hughes picked up his blaring cell phone; he hoped it was good news because he had a feeling that it was his time to collect. An eye for an eye, that's all he asked for. "Hughes here, tell me something good," and the voice on the other end complied.

* * *

**Nick's House 4:30pm**

"Mmm Nick, just like that!" the blonde was suddenly robbed of his breath as he was once again kissed senseless by his very own Texan. Broad hands grabbed at his tee before ripping it off to slowly torture the sensitive skin underneath. Callused fingers teasingly slid over his skin, mapping every hill and valley along the way, as a clever set of tongue and lips slowly licked and sucked their way up his shuddering torso. The sudden, hot suction around one of his shamelessly peaking nipples made Greg keen and hold his lover's head closer to his chest.

Nick loved having Greg at his mercy like this, writhing underneath him, while the brunette laid claim to every inch of the other's body and soul.

"You like me playing with your nipples baby?" A pointed twist to the peaking buds elicited a sharp gasp from his lover as Nick's tongue darted out to soothe the pain into pleasure.

"Oh God, Nick! Please!" The blonde couldn't decide if he wanted to move toward or away from the ruthless tongue playing with his sensitive nipples.

"Please, you want more?" Nick bit into the blonde's left nipple and sucked hard, while he continued to play lightly with the right nipple, using his thumb and index fingers. "Or please, you want something else?" Suddenly the warm mouth was replaced by a cool breath, which only served to heighten the blonde's arousal as he bucked against the pleasurably painful sensations that ran straight to his cock.

Greg tilted his neck with a moan, as the brunette stopped torturing his sensitive nipples to lick and suck possessively at the exposed throat. _God, I can't believe I've found a way to make Nick jealous in a good way!_ He hadn't been fooled, of course, by Nick's casual acceptance of treating Hodges to a brunch, but he _was_ pleasantly surprised when Nick had wordlessly tackled him to the bed right after his agreement.

Soft lips found his most sensitive spot, where shoulder met neck, and any further thoughts were quickly abandoned to sensation. Sliding his hand along the brunette's strong back, Greg shamelessly rubbed himself against his lover as he thrust up to meet his partner's slow, torturous grind.

Nick felt his lover's silent approval and decided to take advantage of the situation by gently biting into the skin. The shudder that racked the body underneath him had him grinning with satisfaction as he proceeded to torture the younger man with little nips along his soft throat before capturing the pliable pink lips in a bruising kiss. He roughly slid his tongue inside to explore every sweet crevice of that sassy mouth. A shot of arousal went straight to his groin when his tongue was sucked like a Popsicle by the little minx beneath him. It made him wonder how those sweet lips would feel around his own cock and he groaned in renewed arousal.

* * *

**David's Apartment 4:45pm**

"Wave your hands in the air like you don't care, Glide by the people as they start to look and stare; Do your dance, do your dance, do your dance quick mamma, Come on baby tell me what's the w-" David froze in the act of singing as he stood unmoving at the threshold of his bedroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

There was a strange man sitting on his bed, with a gun in his hand pointing straight at the Trace Tech. What scared Hodges the most was not the weapon itself, but rather the silencer attached to the weapon, being held in a rock steady hand.

"Oh, no need to stop singing on my account. I hear you queers love to do that stuff. Since I'm an understanding guy, I'll let you sing if it'll make you feel better."

The seemingly rational words coming from the man before him did not help his racing heart. David vaguely wondered if he'd die of a heart attack before he was shot to death, or if even _that_ mercy would not be granted to him.

"But, only to the music I like hearing. What do you say queer boy? Can you scream for me?"

David _did_ always have the worst of luck, why did he think it'll change anytime soon?

* * *

**Grissom's House 5:00pm**

The dull ringing in his dreams became the third movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major. It took a moment for Grissom to realize that the sound was emanating from his cell phone, rather than his record player.

"Gil Grissom. What is it?"

"Hey Gil, it's Brass. Did I wake you up?"

Grissom glanced at his clock, "Yes, I didn't think I'd be needed at work for another eight hours. What's going on?"

"Good news is that Roland Hughes cracked, he told us that he teamed up with his brother to commit the string of burglaries that have been happening around Henderson over the past month. You wouldn't believe their motive if I told you, and it's not just for the money," Brass paused for effect.

"Okay, I'll bite." Grissom got up and started picking out clothes from his dresser; something told him that he'd be heading to work earlier than expected.

* * *

**David's Apartment 5:00pm**

"GOD! You're doing this because _God_ told you to do this. He personally came up to you-" David's mocking words were abruptly cut off as his head slammed into the mattress from the force of the punch. He couldn't move, he was tied down so tightly to his bed, but he could still feel his assailant's gloved fist marking his body.

"Don't think you can get away with being a smart ass. That might work with your lover, but not with me," the calm words held only reprimand. "Now, what's his favourite part on your body? Come on, you can tell me. See, I'm even asking you instead of making you go through every one of my guesses," Mikey slowly pressed down on his victim's Adam's apple for effect.

"It'll be easier to t-talk if you'd j-just let up on my v-voice box," the choked reply only made his captor more vicious as David's neck was slowly squeezed within an inch of his life.

"I told you not to make fun of me," with each calmly uttered word the hold around his neck seemed to tighten. "Don't think I'm so stupid that I won't realize when you're putting me down, you little _bitch!_" With the slightly shouted profanity, the taller man abruptly let go of David's neck, the only display of overt emotion he had seen from the man since David had stepped out of the bathroom. The stranger slowly pulled up a chair and sat beside his captive's labouring form.

The distressed sounds of David's hasty inhalations permeated the room. "Now, it doesn't have to be this hard, I've told you this already. I'm doing this only to rescue you. God forgives all sins, but you have to admit to Him that you have sinned." Mikey's voice was once again soft and mellifluous.

"Does thinking about doing-it with a co-worker, in several different positions within a glass encased room, count as "sinning"? Because, if it does, I think I'm way past redemption at this point."

* * *

**Nick's House 5:00pm**

Nick ground his hips harder against the blonde, while he assaulted the younger man's mouth with repeated thrusts of his tongue in a parody of what he really wanted to do with an entirely different part of his anatomy.

Greg couldn't take it anymore, he knew they had been building up to this since last night and he knew he wouldn't last long if Nick kept this up. He started to tug at Nick's hair to get his attention and gasped out, "Nick! Wait! I'm gonna come if you don't stop!"

Nick paused to regard Greg's expression, "And that would be a bad thing?"

Greg smiled at the guttural words and whispered, "Yeah...especially since I want you in me when I do come."

Nick's body stilled above Greg's and, for a moment, it made the blonde question if he had gone too far with the suggestion. Then, one of Nick's hands deliberately went to the brunette's own buttoned down, baggy, jean-shorts and began undoing them.

Greg's mouth suddenly felt parched as the older man's eyes bore into him from above while his hand slowly pulled the zipper down to reveal a bulging erection underneath. Greg's breathing sounded loud to his own ears as the shorts slid off strong hips, and were discarded quickly to show off a long, thick cock that slapped against the Texan's stomach in its eagerness.

"You want this G? You want to taste it? You want to feel it inside you?"

Greg groaned as he tried to reach for the seven inches of uncut heaven being presented to him, before Nick pulled back. The blonde's shorts were efficiently pulled down and off, before his long, slim cock was engulfed in a sudden, wet, heat that threatened to consume him. Greg bucked in surprise but strong hands gripped his hips tight against the mattress as a wonderful mouth provided hot suction to his needy member. Soon, grunts and moans filled the air and there were no need for words.

* * *

**Crime Lab: A/V Room 5:30pm**

"Archie, run that by me again." Brass shifted his cell phone closer to his ear when he heard the ringing stop. "Hey Griss, you there?"

"Yeah, just pulling out of my driveway now. What can't wait until I get there?"

"I'm getting Arch to pull up the surveillance again. I spoke with Officer Morison just now, and it gave me an idea. Apparently Mikey Hughes had a confrontation with Nick after he left the Interrogation Room yesterday. I remember the guy had showed up with his brother, protesting all the way that we had the wrong man, but I didn't see him leave the Crime Lab 'cause he wasn't there when I walked out of the room."

"And you think that our surveillance will be able to pick up on his whereabouts?" Grissom inquired as he made a left turn in the heavy traffic.

"I'm looking at the tapes right now. Mikey followed Nick to the parking lot and he seems to have witnessed the conversation between Hodges and Nick. He hasn't done anything after that except walk into the Starbucks across from the Lab," Brass paused as Archie fast-forwarded to find Mikey's time of exit. "He's been there awhile...wait, he's out. No wonder, it's near closing time!"

"Brass, you could've told me this when I caught up with you in half an hour. What's going on?" Grissom changed lanes to get past another slow moving car in front of him.

"Wait Griss, I have a theory."

Archie quickly finished pulling up the parallel security tapes surrounding the Lab's exterior and tried to follow Hughes as the perp made his way towards the street and got into a cab.

"Stop! Rewind that for a moment. Did you notice that?"

"Yeah, the guy seems to keep looking at the Lab's front doors and the parking lot in a searching pattern. What is he looking for?" Archie questioned as he rewound the tape again.

"Show me at normal speed and show me what he's looking at!"

Archie found the tape and pressed play.

"Oh Shit!"

"Brass? What is it?" This traffic was murder; Grissom just hoped that he would be able to reach the Lab on time.

"Gil, forget the theory! You might have to swing by one more place before you get to the Lab."

"Why? What'd you find?"

"Mikey Hughes might have just found his next obsession. David Hodges."

* * *

**David's Apartment 5:30pm**

His whole body felt like it was on fire. _Theoretically_, he knew that police issue tasers had a drive stun setting that can be used to deliver a great amount of pain to its victims, in short doses. Maybe he shouldn't have mouthed off again because in _reality_, that thing really did hurt like a bitch. Especially when it was applied to, what felt like, every single inch of his body. David slowly turned his head towards his captor when he was able to move again.

"Why are you _really_ doing this?" the hoarse words spilled past abused vocal chords.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before you decided to disobey me once again," Mikey replaced the small weapon on the side table before he continued.

"Maybe if I tell you something about myself, you would understand better." Mikey paused, as if asking permission to go on before he explained, "Ever since I can remember, I've always heard their voices, but I never paid any attention to them. You see, my younger brother Roland has a problem with speaking. When we were young, he was always being picked on and I needed to be strong for the both of us if we were going to survive." Mikey paused to look meaningfully at David. "But, what I didn't realize was that the voices I heard were there to help me."

Before the deranged man can continue, David's cell phone began to play Korn's version of Word Up! to its startled audience.

* * *

**Crime Lab: Layout Room 5:45pm**

"Is everyone assembled?" Grissom's voice flowed through Brass's speaker phone before four people replied with an affirmative.

"Okay. In this traffic I'm not sure how fast I can get to David's apartment, but hopefully the police can get there before me to check on him personally."

"No need Grissom, our guys just spoke with him and apparently he sounded tired but was alive and well. He also had quite a bit to say about people knocking on his door at such an ungodly hour," Brass glanced at his co-workers who were desperately trying to hide their amusement. "We decided to keep the uniforms circling the neighbourhood, just in case anything came up," Brass assured the entomologist before nodding towards his other colleague. "What did David say when you called him, Cath?"

"His voice sounded groggy, like he had just gotten up, and he confirmed that I did wake him. Apparently, he's been dead to the world since he got home to find his cat safe and well-fed." Catherine finished and glanced at her co-workers.

Sarah and Warrick silently seemed to agree that nothing in Catherine's story appeared to indicate foul play.

"Wait, so both your guys and Catherine spoke with Hodges?" Grissom carefully weaved through the rush hour traffic and wished he'd been driving Sarah's car. Its emergency police light would have made this trip so much easier.

"Yeah, so David's not our priority right now." Brass sounded slightly relieved before he continued, "So far, this is what we have. Roland and Mikey Hughes have apparently been perpetrating these crimes to bring attention to the victims, rather than to themselves. Each of the affected home owners supposedly had "sinned", or done something so bad that they needed to be punished, but Roland seemed to have convinced Mikey not to take the law into his own hands."

Brass raised a hand to avert the barrage of questions before he continued, "Apparently, they had a huge fight about this before Mikey gave into his little brother. Mikey eventually agreed that it might be better to stage these burglaries, and occasionally even take some money to maintain their lifestyle, so they can bring the real criminals to justice. In his confession, Roland described Mikey as a good brother but at times, a violent one. From what we can tell, Mikey seems to be the leader and Roland the follower in this duo."

"Okay, but what do they think these home owners have done to merit being 'sinners'?" Sarah asked.

"I'm getting there. Now, this could all be discounted as hearsay because Roland seems not to be all that stable at the moment, but this is all we have. Apparently, his brother Mikey hears voices from time to time. They tell him what to do and if he does it, he gets rewarded."

"With what?" Warrick's patent disbelief was mirrored by his other colleagues.

Brass smirked as he replied, "Sometimes money, but mostly with the feeling that they've done something to improve the world."

Grissom's rational voice broke through the uproar that followed Brass's words.

"From what I can tell, Mikey sounds like a patient who suffers from auditory hallucinations brought on by the early stages of Mania and the only man capable of even slightly reining him in, is his younger brother Roland, who seems to be affected by some form of social phobia."

"Or, they could be lying!" Warrick argued as he looked to his fellow CSIs for support.

"Either way, we have a suspect on the loose without his brother to act as his conscience. What would he do next?" Sarah inquired.

"And, what exactly were these crimes that Mikey felt were so 'heinous' that these people had to be punished for them?" Grissom countered, which startled everyone into looking at the entryway of the Layout Room.

"We won't even ask," Catherine rolled her eyes at Grissom as he entered the room.

"Hey guys, did you miss me?" The feedback created by Grissom's still operating cell phone, so close to the speaker, made everyone cringe before the older CSI turned it off with a mischievous smirk.

"Well, we didn't miss _that_. Seriously Griss, didn't you just finish telling us this guy is suffering from delusions? What makes you think that there's any truth to his claim that these people may have been doing something wrong?" Warrick challenged with a raised eyebrow.

* * *

**David's Apartment 5:45pm**

"You did really well tonight. I'm quite proud of you. Soon, you'll see things my way. I'm sure." Mikey slowly caressed David's cheek as he gently whispered to his captive.

"I didn't do it for you. They're obviously onto you and if you do anything to hurt Nick or Greg, you won't live to tell the tale." David's quiet determination didn't unnerve his captor one bit because the tech's terrified eyes gave him away.

"I can't believe you fell for that!"

David's confusion was clearly reflected in his blue-grey orbs.

"Oh, don't do anything to my cheating boyfriend or his whore of a lover! I'll do anything for you!" Mikey mimicked in a panicked voice before he laughed derisively as he observed his victim. "I shouldn't have been so surprised; you probably sleep around with the little blonde yourself when Nick isn't looking."

David didn't bat an eye as he stared steadily at the ceiling.

"You're wondering how I seem to know so much about your friends. Come on, it's okay to ask the question you really want the answer to. I won't think any less of you than I already do."

Mikey smirked as he finally managed to gain the eye contact he had strived for in his captive.

"I don't need to. I already know the answer to that one." David assured as he stared challengingly at his opponent.

Mikey leaned in, curious to hear the answer himself.

"It's so obvious that even a two year old can come up with it. How do you know so much about me and my friends, when we didn't even know that you existed until recently?" David narrowed his eyes mockingly before he confessed, "The voices in your head, of course, because what else would explain you knowing so much about us? You're certainly not smart enough to use a computer. I'm not entirely sure you're even capable of using your _God_ given brains..."

David never saw the jolt coming.

* * *

**Nick's House 5:45pm**

Nick's cock continued to leak pre-cum as he rubbed it possessively against the younger man, marking his territory with his scent while he devoured the blonde's erection, licking and tasting every sweet inch of the gorgeous manhood like it was his last meal. He needed Greg to come in his mouth, his juices to fill him, so he could take his time pleasuring the younger man to arousal again and again.

A merciless tongue swirled across Greg's cock head, tasting the juices steadily leaking from its slit, while his balls were cupped and massaged thoroughly by a callused hand. The slight roughness of his lover against his own smooth skin made Greg's body shudder with pleasure, as the lithe muscle continued its merciless path from the tip to the root of his phallus. Greg's eyes were riveted to the dark head bobbing up and down his erection, as the tight mouth around his cock steadily spread both saliva and pre cum along its length.

The blonde felt like a man poised at the brink of an explosion, as he climbed ever higher and his world shrunk ever smaller, until the only thing that mattered was his lover's hot mouth engulfing his own hard member. Excess liquid slowly trickled down to tease his tight pucker, causing him to moan louder, as he tugged at the older man's hair in desperation. When a wet digit suddenly slid in and brushed against his most secret place, the blonde sucked in a startled breath and came wordlessly—staring in wonder at those dark brown eyes, now looking back at him with smug satisfaction.

Nick greedily drank in the sight of his lover's orgasm, as well as his physical release, while the swollen cock between his lips pulsed and delivered what seemed to be life's own elixir into his mouth. He slowly licked the last drop of cum from the now sensitive flesh, before he crawled up the younger man's shuddering body to cover it with his own bigger form.

Greg desperately clung to Nick, not wanting to lose this closeness, as he wrapped his long legs around the Texan's hips before he started kissing his lover's mouth in desperation.

"I love you! I love you! I love you so, so much! God Nicky, don't ever leave me!" The flavour of his cum, mixed with Nick's own unique taste, renewed the blonde's erection so quickly that he thought he might not have lost it in the first place.

The desperation of the act pulled at Nick's arousal, as surely as if he had climaxed with his lover. "I'd never willingly leave you baby. I promise." Nick's quietly stated words reflected his fierce conviction.

When the Texan suddenly pulled back, Greg's moan of displeasure turned into a startled yelp as callused hands roughly pulled his legs apart and exposed the pink rosebud hidden in between, waiting to be invaded by the eager man before him. Nick's silent appraisal of his most sensitive place made Greg's passage throb with anticipation and need. The blonde watched with wonder as the older man slowly bent toward his pink hole and licked it with deliberate precision. The feel of a rough tongue along with the intensity of those dark eyes piercing into his own chocolate irises, made Greg's heart constrict with desire and something stronger, something more primal.

He knew this was just the beginning; when Nick was finally done with him, he would be thoroughly and irrevocably claimed—and he couldn't wait.

* * *

**David's Apartment 6:00pm**

David knew the monster was just getting started, he only prayed that oblivion would find him sooner rather than later—his pride would never allow for a screaming fit, especially when no one can hear his pleas for help.

* * *

A/N: I know I said that Sin City: Corruption would come next but I decided to switch it up a bit and thought that the new title, Seduction, would fit this chapter better. This instalment covers not just the physical seduction that the relationship between Nick/Greg provides but also the spiritual seduction of the mind, which Mikey hopefully delivers. Further exposition of the characters, Mikey and Roland, is coming up next. Thanks to everyone (new and old) who has supported me through this: including the readers, the reviewers, as well to those that have added me/this story to their favourites list. Hooray for you! :D

P.S. Before I get burnt, I'd like to say that there is a method to David's madness and he's not just provoking his captor because it's in his personality to do so...although that accounts for some of it.

P.P.S I've assumed that a CSI's Denali wouldn't usually contain emergency police lights. I mentioned Sarah as owning an optional one because "the keener who used to listen to police scanners" is and will always be a part of the Sarah we all know and love.


End file.
